Table 5.
Effects of dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) on performance of sows and litters
| Item | Dietary treatment1 | SEM | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CON | ACI | |||
| No. of sows | 11 | 11 | ||
| Sow BW (day 94 of gestation), kg | 224.4 | 223.8 | 12.0 | 0.973 |
| Parity | 4.0 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.835 |
| Day 108 of gestation | ||||
| BW gain, kg | 5.8 | 7.4 | 1.1 | 0.355 |
| Day 1 of lactation | ||||
| BW, kg | 222.7 | 222.4 | 11.0 | 0.986 |
| Litter weight, kg | 14.9 | 15.9 | 0.4 | 0.345 |
| Piglet birth weight, kg | 1.46 | 1.52 | 0.04 | 0.346 |
| Litter size after CF, piglet | 9.8 | 9.7 | 0.2 | 0.697 |
| Liveborn | 11.7 | 10.2 | 0.8 | 0.100 |
| Stillborn | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.778 |
| Mummified | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.027 |
| Day 9 of lactation | ||||
| BW loss, kg | 12.0 | 6.5 | 2.7 | 0.168 |
| Litter size, piglet | 9.5 | 9.3 | 0.2 | 0.502 |
| ADFI, kg | 7.4 | 7.0 | 0.7 | 0.256 |
| Litter weight gain, kg | 15.5 | 14.7 | 0.5 | 0.526 |
| Piglet weight gain, kg | 1.61 | 1.59 | 0.08 | 0.845 |
| Piglet survivability, % | 93.0 | 89.9 | 2.7 | 0.333 |
| Day 18 of lactation | ||||
| BW loss during lactation, kg | 14.3 | 9.1 | 3.3 | 0.284 |
| ADFI during lactation, kg | 7.7 | 7.4 | 0.5 | 0.543 |
| Litter size, piglet | 9.5 | 9.3 | 0.2 | 0.436 |
| Litter weight gain, kg | 39.5 | 36.9 | 1.7 | 0.284 |
| Piglet weight gain, kg | 4.11 | 3.98 | 0.17 | 0.618 |
| Piglet survivability, % | 93.0 | 89.9 | 2.7 | 0.450 |
| Ca daily intake, g/d2 | 86.4 | 81.6 | 3.8 | 0.390 |
1Dietary cation-anion difference was expressed as milliequivalents (mEq) (Na + K – Cl) per kilogram diet. Two dietary treatments were CON (control diets were corn-soybean meal based with a calculated DCAD of 170 and 226 mEq/kg during late gestation and lactation, respectively) or ACI (acidogenic diets had a DCAD 100 mEq/kg lower than the control diets).
2Ca daily intake was calculated as the analyzed Ca concentration timed the ADFI during lactation.