The Relationship of the Dam's Feeding Regimen, Breed, and Individuality to Fetal Development in Swine

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Abstract
Differences in maternal environment arising from breed and feeding regimen, as well as individual maternal characteristics, were studied in three trials involving 155 gilts; fetus and placenta weights at 25 days, 70 days, and 105 days of gestation and pig weight at term were considered in these trials. Chester White and Poland China gilts carrying comparable crossbred litters were fed various sequences of two different nutrient levels starting shortly after weaning. Full-feeding was accomplished by self-feeding a low-fiber ration (4–6% fiber); limited-feeding was carried on either by hand-feeding the low-fiber ration at two-thirds the level of self-feeding or by self-feeding a high-fiber ration (11–18% fiber). Individual differences in maternal growth and fatness had no effect on embryo or fetal development, as shown by path coefficient analysis. Examination of the effect of litter size and number per horn on fetus weight relative to their association with membrane weight indicated that at 25 days litter size has a significant, positive, direct effect on fetus weight; number per horn is unimportant. At 105 days of gestation, some of the effect of number per horn on fetus weight is direct and negative; the direct effect of litter size is negligible. The indirect effects of litter size and number per horn (through membrane weight) on fetus weight were negligible at all stages. The carcass weight, back-fat thickness, and carcass length of the gilts were reduced by limited-feeding. Pig weights were not affected by the maternal feeding regimen at any of the stages studied. Pig weights near term were greater in litters carried by Chester White gilts than in those carried by Poland China gilts. These greater weights appear to arise in part from the more rapid development of the fetal membranes in the Chester White gilts early in gestation. Copyright © . .

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