Table 4.
Effects of dietary BPA supplementation during lactation or gestation and lactation on reproductive sows and litter performances
| Item | Treatment | SEM | P-value4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control | L | GL | |||
| No. of sows1 | 19 | 19 | 20 | — | — |
| Parity, n | 2.84 | 2.83 | 2.75 | — | — |
| Sow reproductive performance | |||||
| Litter birth weight, kg | 22.01 | 21.85 | 21.90 | 1.350 | 0.996 |
| Total born piglets, n | 17.01 | 17.67 | 19.13 | 0.941 | 0.238 |
| Piglets born alive, n | 14.47b | 15.28b | 17.53a | 0.811 | 0.020 |
| Born alive piglet weight, kg | 1.41a | 1.24ab | 1.16b | 0.070 | 0.024 |
| Litter performance | |||||
| Litter size at cross-fostering (CF), n2 | 14.39 | 14.90 | 14.93 | 0.173 | 0.057 |
| Piglet CF weight, kg | 1.48 | 1.44 | 1.33 | 0.072 | 0.299 |
| Piglet lactation weight day 20, kg | 4.94 | 5.04 | 4.70 | 0.247 | 0.585 |
| Piglet postweaning weight day 7, kg | 5.41 | 5.58 | 5.51 | 0.288 | 0.701 |
| Piglet weight gain from CF to day 7 postweaning, kg | 3.93 | 4.14 | 4.18 | 0.203 | 0.497 |
| Lactation length, d | 23.45 | 22.86 | 23.91 | 0.575 | 0.403 |
| Preweaning mortality rate,3 % | 2.19 | 1.27 | 3.68 | 0.199 | 0.281 |
a,bMeans within a row with different superscripts indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
1Data from number of sows allotted per treatment at farrowing and during lactation. Difference with the initial number of sows before breeding corresponds to sows that showed physiological issues (heat failure [gilts], repeated estrous, or abortion).
2Litter sizes were adjusted by cross-fostering within treatment between days 1 and 2 after farrowing.
3Piglets preweaning mortality rate was estimated from cross-fostering to weaning.
4Sow parity was considered as covariable for the statistical analysis.