SEVERE FEED RESTRICTION OF THE SOW DURING LATE PREGNANCY

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Abstract
Thirty-two Yorkshire sows were given either 0.45 or 2.27 kg feed/day from day 100 of gestation to farrowing to determine whether short-term restriction of feed intake during late gestation affected either the reproduction or lactation performance of the sows. Level of feeding from day 100 of gestation significantly affected prefarrowing weight change (P <.01) and the net weight change from day 100 to immediately postfarrowing (P <.01). An inverse relationship in the pattern of prefarrowing and lactation weight changes was observed. Restriction of prefarrowing feed intake did not significantly affect litter size, birth weight or weaning weight of the piglets. However, reduced intake prefarrowing was counterbalanced by increased intake postfarrowing with no overall saving in feed.