Dietary fiber can affect a number of physiological programs in sows, reminiscent of intestine well being, microbiota composition, immune response, and physique situation.
Goal: This examine examined the results of whole dietary fiber (TDF) degree and the inclusion of fast-fermentable fiber on lactation efficiency, nutrient digestibility, immune response, and microbiota.
Strategies: A complete of 136 lactating sows had been assigned to 4 diets: two with low TDF (15%) and two with excessive TDF (25%). Every TDF degree included both a low or excessive proportion of fast-fermentable fiber. Fiber sources included sugar beet pulp, oat hulls, wheat millrun, and barley, chosen based mostly on their fermentability profiles. Primiparous sows got 3kg of feed each day whereas multiparous sows got 3.5kg. From day 2 post-partum, feed was elevated by half a kg each day till reaching 7kg/each day for primiparous and 9kg for multiparous, and these most ranges had been stored till weaning. Sows had been fed 3 instances a day. Sow physique weight and backfat thickness had been measured on day −1 (pre-farrowing) and on days 2, 10, and 19 postpartum; fecal samples had been collected on days 1 and 19, blood on day 19 (4 h post-meal), and colostrum and milk had been sampled inside half-hour of first piglet beginning and on day 19 (after oxytocin), respectively; litter dimension and weight had been recorded on days 2, 10, and 19, mortality was tracked till weaning, and litter weight achieve was calculated utilizing corrected piglet-days; fecal microbiota evaluation was carried out on 60 samples (15 per remedy), collected on day 19.
Outcomes: Regardless of a discount in obvious whole tract digestibility (ATTD) of vitamins with high-fiber diets, there have been no destructive results on feed consumption or litter efficiency. In truth, sows on high-fiber diets misplaced extra fats however preserved physique protein higher. Quick-fermentable fiber decreased physique weight and protein loss, improved ATTD of power and protein, and decreased serum IL-8 ranges, suggesting a decrease inflammatory response. Microbiota variety decreased with high-fiber diets, typically interpreted as destructive, but there was a transparent enrichment of useful bacterial households reminiscent of Prevotellaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Lachnospiraceae.
Conclusion: Total, strategic inclusion of fiber, significantly fast-fermentable sorts, can profit lactating sows, however blindly rising fiber will not be an answer. The supply, fermentability, and inclusion degree all matter.
Wang T, Langendijk P, Azevedo P, Fabà L, Zuo B, Zhao J, Yang C. Results of fiber concentrations and fermentation charges on reproductive efficiency, nutrient digestibility, immune response, and microbiota of lactating sows. Journal of Animal Science. 2025; 103:skaf110. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf110
