Reproductive Performance and Progeny Development in Swine as Influenced by Protein Restriction during Various Portions of Gestation

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Abstract
Two experiments involving 94 litters were conducted to determine effects on reproductive performance and progeny development of feeding an 8.7% protein corn diet during various portions of gestation. Both gilt litters (experiment 1) and sow litters (experiment 2) from dams fed the corn diet throughout gestation exhibited inferior growth rates during the 21-day suckling period compared with litters from dams fed a 16% protein corn-soybean meal diet during the same period. The magnitude of differences, however, was greater in gilt litters than sow litters. Litter performance in experiment 1 was not improved by feeding dams the corn-soy diet during the first third of pregnancy, but was improved by feeding this diet during the last third of pregnancy. Gestation weight gain and pig and litter weights at weaning for the gestation treatment that involved the low (first two-thirds) to high (last third) protein regimen were similar to those resulting with the positive control gestation treatment, i.e., the 16% corn-soybean meal diet throughout gestation.

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