Could Gilt and Sow Nutrition Be Limiting Reproductive Performance?

Modern gilts and sows are expected to produce larger litters, rebreed quickly and deliver more piglets over their lifetime. That raises the demand for energy, protein, amino acids, fatty acids and micronutrients at every stage of the breeding cycle.

When supply falls short, the effects can include delayed puberty, reduced conception rates, impaired embryo survival and higher culling rates. The question is whether the feeding programme is keeping pace with what modern breeding pigs are being asked to achieve.

Before first breeding, the aim should be to achieve the right combination of age, body weight and maturity rather than simply breeding as early as possible.

Targets include puberty before 195 days of age, first breeding between 200 and 225 days and a body weight of 135 to 160kg at first breeding. Breeding gilts too early can result in smaller litters, not only during the first pregnancy but also in subsequent pregnancies.

As gilts are still maturing, their nutritional requirements must also support continued body development. If protein, and particularly amino acid requirements, are not met, puberty may be delayed and the likelihood of successful first breeding reduced.

Once a gilt has produced her first litter, nutritional requirements continue to change according to the stage of production.

Body condition is particularly important, with a target BCS of around 3.0 at farrowing. Good nutritional management should help maintain body condition and maternal reserves without allowing sows to become excessively fat, supporting successful rebreeding and lifetime productivity.

Larger commercial herds may use separate gestation and lactation diets to meet these changing requirements. Where this is not practical, the same ration can be offered at different feeding rates using a high-low-high approach throughout the breeding cycle.

From weaning to service, additional protein can help restore body condition following lactation and support fertility. Feed allowance can be increased around breeding before being reduced from approximately three weeks after service for the majority of gestation.

This lower feeding period helps avoid excessive increases in sow body condition while continuing to support foetal growth. During the final three weeks before farrowing, feed allowance should increase again to support rapid foetal growth and prepare the sow for the demands of the next lactation.

The key point is that gestation should not be treated as one fixed feeding period. Nutrient supply needs to reflect what the sow requires at each stage of the breeding cycle.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients involved in metabolic functions, including cell membrane fluidity and permeability, helping cells function correctly.

In gilts and sows, feeding Omega-3 fatty acids can support a faster return to oestrus, enhanced longevity and lifetime performance, and a reduced response to immune challenges, allowing more energy to be directed towards productive purposes.

The benefits can also extend to piglets, with improved liveweight gain and higher inflammatory markers in sow colostrum associated with significantly improved weaning weights.

Successful gilt and sow nutrition is about more than preparing animals for farrowing. Age, body weight, body condition and stage of the breeding cycle should all influence how animals are fed.

Getting those changes right can help support fertility, rebreeding, litter performance and sow longevity, while helping animals maintain body condition and maternal reserves without becoming excessively fat.

UFAC’s nutritional solutions can help support commercial breeding herds throughout the production cycle, including targeted Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for gilts and sows.