SUCKLING PIGS

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20494, 10 May 1938, Page 23 (Supplement)

SUCKLING PIGS

CONSUMPTION OF MILK EXPERIMENTS IN BRITAIN *■ In the current issue of the “Pig Breeders’ Gazette,” an extract is taken from “The Empire Journal of Experimental Agriculture,” in which Mr. H. P. Donald, of the Institute of Animal Genetics, University of Edinburgh, discusses the milk consumption and growth of suckling pigs and also methods of suckling and suckling preference in pigs. The first experiment in which two litters of Large White pigs were weighed individually before and after each suckling for a week, showed that a close association was found between the live weight increase and the amounts of mi k consumed. One bow which was nursing ten pigs in her third litter gave over 80 per cent, more milk than the other sow which had twelve pigs in her first litter. In general the largest pigs in a litter obtained the most milk. If certain assumptions are made concerning the amount of milk required for maintenance, the pigs which received the most milk in excess of their maintenance requirements appear to have converted it to live weight increase less economically than their litter mates. As the interval between sucklings lengthened, the amount of milk obtained by each pig increased. For one of the sews the actual production for each nipple could be ascertained and showed great irregularity. The anterior nipples tended to be more productive than the posterior. PROCESS OF SUCKLING In the second experiment dealing with suckling and suckling preference, 97 sets of observations were made on five sows with litters. Three distinct stages may be recognised in the process of Buckling. The first is a preliminary period during which the litter sorts itself out and stimulates the flow of milk by massaging the udder. At this time also many of the pigs may run round and touch the snout of the sow. Quite suddenly the second stage begins during which the pigs suckle rapidly and do not massage. The third stage follows shortly and consists usually of an extended repetition of the first but includes rather more actual suckling. All stages are cf varying length; the third may extend to fifteen minutes or more; on the other hand it may be practically eliminated. There is reason to believe that little or no milk is obtained during the third stage, for if the pigs are weighed immediately after the second, the increase is Just as great as it is when they have been allowed to remain for some time longer with the sow. It is suggested that during the first few days after farrowing the pigs become capable of recognising their positions in relation to the conformation of the sow as a whole, and that they later become accustomed to seeking the proper nipple in the upper or lower row as the sow changes from side to side. Although strong preferences do exist among the members of a litter, they cannot always be satisfied. The chief factors influencing the number of departures from the normal distribuy tion at suckling appear to be: (a) the number of pigs in the litter, (b) the suckling behaviour of the sow, and (c) the uniformity (or lack of it) in the udder.