Feedworks’ Marlin Hoogland highlights how metabolic imbalance – particularly throughout weaning, late gestation and illness outbreaks – can quietly undermine animal well being and farm profitability
15 September 2025
4 minute learn
In swine manufacturing, oxidative stress could also be an invisible problem, however its results are removed from refined. From decreased feed effectivity to suppressed development charges, it quietly chips away at productiveness.
Dr. Marlin Hoogland, veterinarian and Director of Innovation and Analysis at Feedworks, says producers and veterinarians alike ought to be on alert for this metabolic imbalance, particularly throughout essentially the most physiologically demanding occasions in a pig’s life.
What causes oxidative stress?
“The best method to consider oxidative stress is that there is an imbalance in what usually occurs within the physique by metabolism or immune features,” mentioned Hoogland. “You get the traditional manufacturing of reactive oxygen species – these are oxidants. The physique has a traditional mechanism by nutritional vitamins and enzymes that counterbalances that and manages the oxidative stress – these oxidants – by antioxidants.”
Basically, oxidative stress outcomes when the physique generates extra oxidants than it may neutralize. The consequence? A systemic imbalance that may compromise productiveness, reproductive efficiency and immune resilience.
“Oxidative stress might be damaging. Outwardly, a producer or veterinarian may discover it from lack of productiveness, predominantly within the type of development charges and feed efficiencies. When it will get to a degree, you could possibly have lack of complete productiveness when it comes to animals,” he defined. “So we are able to see oxidative stress result in fewer complete born and/or born alive. When it will get to that degree, it definitely impacts within the complete throughput inside a system.”
Main stress occasions ramp up oxidative stress
Whereas oxidative stress can have an effect on pigs in any respect life levels, there are specific home windows of vulnerability the place its results are magnified.
“For the piglet aspect, there’s vital oxidative stress as they undergo totally different time intervals of their life, significantly weaning is a serious anxious occasion,” he mentioned. “What we see afterward in life is oxidative stress actually ramps up within the later grow-finish after they’re actually placing on quite a lot of muscle tissue – a excessive development fee.”
Sows aren’t immune both. In reality, oxidative stress typically hits hardest throughout late gestation and lactation.
“When you take a look at the sow specifically, she’s going to expertise quite a lot of her oxidative stress extra in late gestation and definitely into lactation. That is when she’s going by large adjustments with quite a lot of embryo development and quite a lot of tissue mass with the fetuses creating,” mentioned Hoogland.
Environmental circumstances and illness stress can additional tip the scales towards imbalance.
“Throughout excessive physiological stress and environmental stress, we do see extra oxidative stress,” Hoogland mentioned. “This might be related to illness. It’s one other factor that is coming into their life that actually can overwhelm the immune system.”
Seasonal components play a task too, with summer time warmth amplifying oxidative stress in each sows and grow-finish pigs. Nevertheless, Hoogland warns to not overlook wintertime dangers.
“Definitely, we all know with pigs, the 2 foremost issues that drive a few of that may be the warmth itself. Sows specifically in the summertime take care of extra warmth stress,” he mentioned. “Nevertheless, when you’re what we take care of within the swine trade with quite a lot of viruses, PRRS specifically has not gotten higher. It appears to have gotten tougher for veterinarians and producers.”
As soon as thought of a seasonal risk, PRRS has advanced right into a year-round concern, compounding oxidative stress with its immunosuppressive results.
“Among the breaks we’re seeing June and July, they’re taking place in places that have not had viral breaks in 10 to 12 years,” mentioned Hoogland. “So, it is very irritating that we’re seeing this virus proceed to push the best way it has. And never solely in grow-finish the place it has been a big problem however on sow farms for positive.”
Dietary methods to mitigate oxidative stress
To mitigate oxidative stress, dietary methods have turn into a cornerstone of Feedworks’ method. Amongst them is using polyphenol-based merchandise that help antioxidant operate on the mobile degree.
“From the standpoint of what we’re with oxidative stress, we’re targeted on a number of the antioxidant measures that we are able to take,” he mentioned. “There is a group of polyphenols, Elife is the product that Feedworks has had essentially the most success with, and it has labored very well with our clients.”
In line with Hoogland, Elife’s effectiveness lies in its means to revive the physique’s personal antioxidant reserves.
“What we’re discovering is that it has the power to regenerate a number of the vitamin E inside the pig and vitamin E is a key a part of the vitamin programs that battle with antioxidants,” he mentioned. “So utilizing issues like these polyphenols and ranges of different issues within the weight loss program, just like the vitamin E already within the weight loss program and vitamin A, we’re the place a number of the antioxidants are at – that is necessary with what we’re studying about oxidative stress.”
Within the ever-complex panorama of contemporary swine manufacturing, oxidative stress is an often-overlooked risk that calls for consideration. As Hoogland explains, the answer begins with consciousness—and continues with strategic vitamin that helps pigs throughout their most anxious moments.
