First analysis of factors influencing feed intake of sows during lactation

During lactation, sows need to eat a sufficient amount of feed to meet the requirements of milk production to nurture their litter and to sustain their body condition. Overall, information about feed intake of lactating sows is limited. In addition, information about other factors influencing feed intake of the sow may be incomplete. These factors include feeding strategy, lactation length, litter size and weight of the litter the sow is nursing as well as sow body weight and body condition. Therefore, a direct comparison of feed intake across farms should be done with caution. The importance of sow lactation feed intake for a high lifetime reproductive performance has been discussed in the previous paper by Bunter et al. (2006). A large project is underway at QAF Meat Industries, funded by the Pork CRC, to evaluate breeding strategies that include feed intake of the lactating sow. However, feed intake of sows during lactation may also be recorded as a management tool to improve performance (Welch, 2005), which is practiced at Neuendorf Farming. It is the aim of this paper to describe information available for feed intake of sows during lactation as recorded in a commercial piggery and to identify factors that influence sow feed intake during lactation.