1945
Neither photoperiod in the farrowing room nor time of weaning affect nursery performance
Weaning may result in anorexia and reduced growth in pigs especially during the initial 24 to 48 h in the nursery. This study was designed to determine if altering the photoperiod in the farrowing room and/or if weaning at the end of the light or dark cycle would affect performance post-weaning. Twelve farrowing rooms, 13 sows/room, were assigned to one of four treatments approximately one wk prior to farrowing. Treatments, arranged as a 2 x 2 factorial included 2 farrowing room photoperiods; 16 h light:8 h dark (16L:8D) or 8L:16D, and 2 weaning times; end of the dark or end of the light cycle. Pigs were weaned at 25 (± 1) d of age into nurseries maintained on a 16L:8D regime at time 0 of the dark cycle. Pigs were fed standard commercial diets, in a 2 phase feeding program in the nursery. The phase 1 nursery diet was spiked with ferric oxide pellets for 24 h post-weaning and anal swabs taken at 48 h post-weaning allowed pigs to be designated as “eaters” or “non-eaters”. Neither farrowing room photoperiod nor weaning time affected ADG (P > 0.10) in the farrowing room (236 g/d; birth to weaning) or nursery (437 g/d, weaning to 54 d of age). On d 0 to 7 post-weaning, there was a tendency for a photoperiod by weaning time interaction for ADFI (P = 0.06). The lowest intakes (123 g/d) were observed for pigs who had been on the 16L:8D lighting regime and weaned at the end of the dark cycle. ADFI was similar among the other treatments and averaged 157 g/d. Neither photoperiod nor time of weaning affected the percentage of pigs (34 %) identified as “eaters” during the initial 24 h in the nursery (P > 0.10). Pigs identified as “eaters” were lighter at weaning (7.26 vs 7.62 kg BW; P < 0.01), but showed improved ADG from d 0 to 7 post-weaning relative to “non-eaters” (187 vs 141 g/d; P < 0.01). Nursery exit weights were similar between “eaters” (19.6 kg) and “non-eaters” (21.0 kg; P> 0.10). Farrowing room photoperiod and/or weaning at the end of the dark or light cycle did not affect nursery performance. Pigs exhibiting evidence of phase 1 feed consumption immediately post-weaning were lighter; however they had higher ADG immediately post-weaning than those identified as non-eaters.
Keywords:
swine, weaning, photoperiod