Successful farrowing and pig livability are vital for the overall profitability and sustainability of swine production. However numerous challenges can impede those goals, such as farrowing difficulties, postpartum disorders, reduced milk production and piglet mortality. Traditional approaches often fall short of addressing those issues comprehensively, so alternative solutions are needed.
Nutritionally, producers can help provide the sow with solutions to help her mobilize the necessary nutrients to offset some of those challenges. Calcium is one nutrient that is required during late gestation and lactation because it’s used to maintain fetal skeletal development, milk production and muscle contractions during parturition. Feeding methods that maximize calcium stores and utilization are vital to aid in challenges around farrowing and piglet survival.
The dairy cattle industry has developed a feeding method known as a dietary cation-anion difference diet. Dietary cation-anion difference acidifies the cow’s bloodstream, which triggers the release of calcium from the bone into the bloodstream for the cow to utilize. That mechanism is especially important around calving when the demand for calcium is extremely great. The same thing occurs in sows. If sows are not able to maintain blood calcium during farrowing, it can result in prolonged farrowing time, which may increase the rate of piglet mortality.
Building on that knowledge, researchers conducted a study investigating the manipulation of dietary calcium and electrolyte balance in periparturient sows, with the goal of promoting uterine muscle contraction and inducing a mild compensatory metabolic acidosis.