Dybkjaer L, Jacobsen A P, Tøgersen F A, Poulsen H D
Department of Animal Health, Welfare and Nutrition, Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Research Center Foulum, Denmark.
J Anim Sci. 2006 Mar;84(3):702-11. doi: 10.2527/2006.843702x.
In production systems, piglets usually fast for a period after weaning, thereby increasing the risk of diarrhea and a reduction in growth. The low level of eating may relate to insufficient drinking activity, as solid feed intake must be accompanied by water intake. Mixing of newly weaned piglets is a well-known stressor and a common procedure in pig production. The effect of mixing on the temporal development of eating and drinking activity in newly weaned piglets has not been elucidated. High concentrations of zinc (Zn) in the feed improve the health and performance of piglets after weaning, but the underlying mechanisms are still obscure. One possibility is that Zn affects eating and drinking behavior. The effects of mixing 4 littermates from each of 2 litters and adding zinc oxide (ZnO; 2,500 ppm of Zn) to the feed were studied in a 2 x 2 factorial experiment using 123 piglets weaned at 27 d of age. Individual eating and drinking times during the initial 48 h after weaning were analyzed on 2 levels of aggregation, day and hour. The piglets spent less time eating on the first day after weaning compared with the second day (20 +/- 5 vs. 98 +/- 10 min, respectively; P < 0.001), whereas they spent more time drinking on the first day compared with the second day (13 +/- 1 vs. 9 +/- 0.5 min, respectively; P < 0.001). Eating and drinking times were positively associated (P < 0.001). Females ate for longer than males (61 +/- 8 vs. 44 +/- 7 min/24 h, respectively, P = 0.002), whereas sex did not affect drinking time. Drinking time increased (P = 0.003) and eating time decreased (P = 0.001) with increasing preweaning growth rate and weaning weight. Neither mixing nor addition of ZnO affected the daily eating time. However, nonmixed piglets given 2,500 ppm of Zn as ZnO in the feed spent more time drinking per day (12 +/- 1 min) than did nonmixed piglets offered 100 ppm of Zn as ZnO (10 +/- 1 min; P = 0.002). Mixing also affected the hourly distribution of the drinking activity (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the drinking behavior of newly weaned piglets was more affected by the external factors, mixing and addition of ZnO to the feed, than the eating behavior. As eating and drinking are strongly associated, more focus should be paid to the water intake and the interplay between eating and drinking behavior in future studies aiming to reduce weaning problems.
在生产系统中，仔猪断奶后通常会禁食一段时间，从而增加腹泻风险并减缓生长速度。采食水平较低可能与饮水活动不足有关，因为采食固体饲料时必须同时摄入水分。将刚断奶的仔猪混群饲养是养猪生产中一个众所周知的应激源和常见操作。混群对刚断奶仔猪采食和饮水活动的时间发展的影响尚未阐明。饲料中高浓度的锌（Zn）可改善仔猪断奶后的健康状况和生产性能，但其潜在机制仍不清楚。一种可能性是锌会影响采食和饮水行为。在一项2×2析因试验中，对123头27日龄断奶的仔猪研究了将来自2窝仔猪中的每窝4只同窝仔猪混群以及在饲料中添加氧化锌（ZnO；锌含量为2500 ppm）的影响。在断奶后的最初48小时内，对采食和饮水时间按日和小时两个汇总水平进行了个体分析。与第二天相比，仔猪在断奶后的第一天采食时间较少（分别为20±5分钟和98±10分钟；P<0.001），而它们在第一天的饮水时间比第二天多（分别为13±1分钟和9±0.5分钟；P<0.001）。采食和饮水时间呈正相关（P<0.001）。雌性仔猪的采食时间比雄性长（分别为61±8分钟/24小时和44±7分钟/24小时，P = 0.002），而性别对饮水时间没有影响。随着断奶前生长速度和断奶体重的增加，饮水时间增加（P = 0.003），采食时间减少（P = 0.001）。混群和添加ZnO均不影响每日采食时间。然而，饲料中添加2500 ppm锌的未混群仔猪每天的饮水时间（12±1分钟）比添加100 ppm锌的未混群仔猪（10±1分钟；P = 0.002）长。混群也影响饮水活动的每小时分布（P<0.05）。总之，与采食行为相比，刚断奶仔猪的饮水行为受外部因素（混群和在饲料中添加ZnO）的影响更大。由于采食和饮水密切相关，在未来旨在减少断奶问题的研究中，应更多地关注水分摄入以及采食和饮水行为之间的相互作用。
