Nuntapaitoon Morakot, Muns Ramon, Tummaruk Padet
Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Co Down, Northern Ireland BT 26 6DR, United Kingdom.
Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 2018 Feb;31(2):237-244. doi: 10.5713/ajas.16.0962. Epub 2017 Jul 17.
Piglet pre-weaning mortality is an important variable indicating the efficacy of farrowing management and animal well-being during lactation. The present study determined the association of newborn traits measured soon after birth with piglet pre-weaning mortality and growth.
In total, 805 piglets born from 57 multiparous sows were investigated. Their blood oxygen saturation, blood glucose and rectal temperature at 24 h after birth (RT24h) were monitored. Birth order, sex, skin color, integrity of the umbilical cord, attempts to stand and birth intervention were monitored. Piglets were weighed at day 0, 7, and 21 to evaluate average daily gain (ADG).
Piglet pre-weaning mortality for lactation period was 12.6% and cumulative mortality during the first 7 days of age was 8.6%. A higher proportion of piglets with pale skin color died compared to piglets with normal skin color (26.7% vs 7.7%, p<0.001). A higher (p<0.001) proportion of piglets that attempted to stand after 5 min (38.5%) died compared to piglets that attempted to stand within 1 min (6.3%) after birth. Piglet body weight at birth (BW), blood glucose and the number of piglets born alive (BA) were correlated with ADG (p<0.05). Piglets with BW <1.30 kg had higher (p<0.001) mortality rate than piglets with BW≥1.80 kg (19.0% vs 3.3%) and piglets with BW 1.30 to 1.79 kg (4.0%). Piglet with RT24h <37.0°C had higher (p<0.001) mortality rate (86.2%) than piglets with RT24h >38.5°C (3.9%).
Low BW and low RT24h compromise piglet survival during the lactation period in the tropical conditions. Piglets in the litters with a high BA, low BW and low blood glucose have reduced ADG.
仔猪断奶前死亡率是衡量分娩管理效果及哺乳期动物健康状况的一个重要变量。本研究确定了出生后不久测量的新生仔猪性状与仔猪断奶前死亡率及生长之间的关联。
共对57头经产母猪所生的805头仔猪进行了调查。监测了它们出生后24小时的血氧饱和度、血糖和直肠温度（RT24h）。记录了出生顺序、性别、肤色、脐带完整性、站立尝试情况及出生干预措施。在第0天、第7天和第21天对仔猪称重，以评估平均日增重（ADG）。
哺乳期仔猪断奶前死亡率为12.6%，出生后前7天的累积死亡率为8.6%。与肤色正常的仔猪相比，肤色苍白的仔猪死亡比例更高（26.7%对7.7%，p<0.001）。出生后5分钟后才尝试站立的仔猪死亡比例（38.5%）高于出生后1分钟内就尝试站立的仔猪（6.3%）（p<0.001）。出生时体重（BW）、血糖及出生存活仔猪数量（BA）与ADG相关（p<0.05）。BW<1.30千克的仔猪死亡率高于BW≥1.80千克的仔猪（19.0%对3.3%）及BW为1.30至1.79千克的仔猪（4.0%）（p<0.001）。RT24h<37.0°C的仔猪死亡率高于RT24h>38.5°C的仔猪（86.2%对3.9%）（p<0.001）。
在热带条件下，低体重和低RT24h会影响哺乳期仔猪的存活。同窝中BA高、BW低和血糖低 的仔猪ADG降低。
