Table 4.
Effect of maternal selenium intake during gestation on reproductive performance of sows
| Treatment1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Control | Na2SeO3 | HMSeBA | P-value |
| Litters, n | 13 | 11 | 13 | |
| Total born | 14.38 ± 0.68b | 17.00 ± 1.00a | 16.92 ± 0.75a | 0.038 |
| Birth weight, kg2 | 1.57 ± 0.03a | 1.46 ± 0.10ab | 1.34 ± 0.05b | 0.029 |
| Litter weight, kg2 | 20.73 ± 1.26 | 19.27 ± 2.02 | 20.71 ± 1.09 | 0.727 |
| CVBW, % | 21.99 ± 1.26 | 22.87 ± 1.94 | 25.22 ± 1.90 | 0.380 |
| Total placental weight for live piglets born, kg | 4.89 ± 0.33 | 4.85 ± 0.69 | 4.67 ± 0.43 | 0.939 |
| Placental efficiency for piglets born alive3 | 4.33 ± 0.24 | 4.30 ± 0.32 | 4.84 ± 0.22 | 0.260 |
| Piglet birth interval, min | 20 ± 1.09a | 19 ± 1.99a | 14 ± 1.16b | 0.013 |
| Duration of farrowing, min4 | 236 ± 18 | 252 ± 21 | 195 ± 11 | 0.055 |
1Data are shown as mean values with their standard errors. Control, basal diet; Na2SeO3, 0.3 mg/Kg Na2SeO3; HMSeBA, 0.3 mg/Kg HMSeBA.
2Litter weight at birth and average birth weight of all piglets born alive.
3Placental efficiency = live litter weight/placental weight for live piglets born.
4Duration of farrowing: defined as the time interval between the birth of first and last piglet.
a,bValues within a row with different superscript letters were significantly different (P < 0.05).