Department of Large Animal Science, University of Copenhagen, DK-1870 Frederiksberg.
J Anim Sci. 2013 Dec;91(12):5605-13. doi: 10.2527/jas.2013-6824. Epub 2013 Oct 1.
The increasing litter sizes of modern pig breeds have led to a significant number of piglets that are born undersized ("small" piglets) and some have been exposed to different degrees of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). The aim of this study was to investigate the physiology and capability to ingest colostrum of these small piglets, suffering from various degrees of IUGR, to see if their IUGR score could be a useful tool for easy identification of piglets in need of intervention in the colostrum period. Piglets were classified at birth based on head morphology. Piglets were classified either "normal," "mildly IUGR" (m-IUGR), or "severe IUGR" (s-IUGR), based on head morphology. Blood samples were collected at birth and at 24 h, and colostrum intake during two 12-h periods and blood metabolites at 0 and 24 h were measured. At 24 h, piglets weighing <900 g at birth and the median piglet in birth order were sacrificed, and organ weights and hepatic glycogen were measured. Overall, there was an influence of the piglets' classification on most characteristics, with normal piglets having a greater colostrum intake between 0 and 12 h (P < 0.001) and between 12 and 24 h (P < 0.05), and higher birth weight, crown rump length, body mass index, and ponderal index (P < 0.001), and a tendency toward a higher vitality score (P < 0.069) than s-IUGR piglets. There was a time × IUGR interaction, with plasma glucose levels being lowered (P < 0.001) and lactate levels elevated (P < 0.001) in s-IUGR piglets at 24 h compared with normal and m-IUGR piglets. Some differences were found in electrolytes; sodium plasma concentrations were greatest for normal piglets (P < 0.05) and highest at 0 h (P < 0.05). At 24 h of age, s-IUGR piglets had a higher heart (P < 0.001) and brain percentage (P < 0.001), and a lower liver percentage (P < 0.001) relative to body weight, compared with normal piglets. In addition, s-IUGR piglets had less hepatic glycogen than m-IUGR piglets and normal piglets. The present study showed that the physiology of piglets in the colostrum period was affected by IUGR status at birth and their intermediary metabolism was altered due to different colostrum intakes. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the head shape of newborn piglets is a good selection criteria for identifying piglets that need oral supplementation during the neonatal stage.
现代猪品种的产仔数不断增加，导致大量仔猪出生时体型较小（“小”仔猪），有些仔猪还受到不同程度的宫内生长受限（IUGR）的影响。本研究旨在研究这些患有不同程度 IUGR 的小仔猪的生理学和摄入初乳的能力，以确定它们的 IUGR 评分是否可以作为在初乳期容易识别需要干预的仔猪的有用工具。仔猪在出生时根据头部形态进行分类。根据头部形态，仔猪分为“正常”、“轻度 IUGR”（m-IUGR）或“重度 IUGR”（s-IUGR）。出生时和 24 小时采集血液样本，并在两个 12 小时期间测量初乳摄入量和血液代谢物，并在 0 小时和 24 小时测量。在 24 小时时，体重小于 900 克的仔猪和出生顺序中位数的仔猪被处死，并测量器官重量和肝糖原。总体而言，仔猪的分类对大多数特征都有影响，正常仔猪在 0 至 12 小时（P < 0.001）和 12 至 24 小时（P < 0.05）期间的初乳摄入量更大，出生体重、头臀长、体重指数和体重指数更高（P < 0.001），活力评分更高（P < 0.069）。存在时间×IUGR 相互作用，与正常和 m-IUGR 仔猪相比，s-IUGR 仔猪在 24 小时时血糖水平降低（P < 0.001），乳酸水平升高（P < 0.001）。在电解质方面也存在一些差异；正常仔猪的血浆钠浓度最高（P < 0.05），0 小时时最高（P < 0.05）。在 24 小时龄时，s-IUGR 仔猪的心脏（P < 0.001）和大脑百分比（P < 0.001）较高，肝脏百分比（P < 0.001）相对于体重较低，与正常仔猪相比。此外，s-IUGR 仔猪的肝糖原含量低于 m-IUGR 仔猪和正常仔猪。本研究表明，仔猪在初乳期的生理学受出生时 IUGR 状态的影响，其中间代谢因初乳摄入不同而改变。此外，研究表明，新生仔猪的头部形状是识别新生阶段需要口服补充的仔猪的良好选择标准。
