Table 5.
Growth performance of low- and normal-birth-weight piglets nursed by primiparous sows fed diets supplemented with or without arginine between days 0 and 14 of lactation
| Item | Control-fed sows | Arginine-supplemented sows | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBW piglets | LBW piglets | NBW piglets | LBW piglets | |
| Body weight of piglets, kg | ||||
| Day 0 | 1.36 ± 0.05 | 0.71 ± 0.03* | 1.38 ± 0.04 | 0.70 ± 0.03* |
| Day 7 | 2.31 ± 0.08 | 1.19 ± 0.05* | 2.70 ± 0.10** | 1.45 ± 0.06*,** |
| Day 14 | 3.75 ± 0.14 | 1.86 ± 0.09* | 4.16 ± 0.17** | 2.31 ± 0.12*,** |
| Daily weight gain of piglets, g/day | ||||
| Days 0 to 7 | 136 ± 5.6 | 69.0 ± 3.3* | 189 ± 8.7** | 106 ± 4.5*,** |
| Days 7 to 14 | 207 ± 9.3 | 95.8 ± 6.1* | 210 ± 9.0 | 123 ± 6.3*,** |
| Days 0 to 14 | 173 ± 7.9 | 82.3 ± 4.6* | 199 ± 8.4** | 115 ± 5.8*,** |
| Milk intake by piglets, mL/kg body weight | ||||
| Day 7 | 302 ± 18 | 294 ± 21 | 326 ± 24 | 312 ± 20 |
| Day 14 | 253 ± 13 | 241 ± 16 | 267 ± 15 | 259 ± 18 |
Adapted from Kim and Wu (2009). Gilts (Yorkshire x Landrace dams and Duroc x Hampshire sires) were bred at ~100 kg BW and fed daily 2.0 kg of a sorghum- and soybean meal–based diet containing 14.0% CP and 0.80% Arg. Between Days 0 and 14 of lactation, primiparous sows had free access to drinking water and the basal diet supplemented with either 1.0% Arg-HCl or 1.7% L-alanine (isonitrogenous control). Arginine or alanine was added to the basal diet at the expense of cornstarch. There were 10 sows in each treatment group. On the day of farrowing, 2 normal-birth-weight (1.3 to 1.5 kg) piglets and 2 low-birth-weight (0.60 to 0.80 kg) littermates were chosen from each of the 10 sows in a treatment group for weekly measurements of body weight and milk consumption. Litter size was equalized to be 9 per sow on day 0. On day 7, milk was obtained for the analysis of AA, and protein concentration was 40.3 ± 0.6 and 43.8 ± 0.8 g/L (P < 0.05), respectively, for control and Arg-supplemented sows. Feed intake was 4.93 ± 0.17 and 5.04 ± 0.19 kg/d during the 14-d period of lactation, respectively, for control and Arg-supplemented sows (P > 0.05). Data are means ± SEM.
*P < 0.01: Different from the corresponding NBW piglets.
**P < 0.01: Different from the corresponding control (alanine-supplemented) group.
LBW = low birth weight; NBW = normal birth weight.