Effects of prepartum administration of 1,3-butanediol to sows on growth and survival of neonatal pigs.

In six trials, 158 late-term gravid sows were fed isocaloric amounts (8,500 kcal metabolizable energy/d) of a corn-soybean meal-based diet in which 20% of their daily metabolizable energy (ME) intake was supplied by either cornstarch or 1,3-butanediol (butanediol) from about d 105 of gestation to parturition. After parturition, all sows were allowed to consume a standard, corn-soybean meal-based lactation diet, ad libitum, during a 28-d lactation. Prepartum administration of butanediol, a stable, nonvolatile liquid that possesses anesthetic, antimicrobial and ketogenic properties, did not alter the voluntary feed intake or body weight changes of sows pre- or post-partum. Number of pigs born per litter, average pig birth weight and incidence of stillbirths were not influenced by the prepartum diet of the sows. However, the addition of butanediol to the prepartum diet increased (P less than .10) the number of pigs weaned per litter at 28 d by .51 pigs (8.17 vs 7.66) and improved (P less than .10) the survival rate of pigs from birth to weaning by 5.7 percentage units (84.1 vs 78.4%) compared with those of sows fed isocaloric additions of starch. Average pig weights at 28 d of age were similar for the two treatment groups (6.18 vs 6.08 kg) even though greater numbers of pigs were nursing sows fed the butanediol diet prepartum. The rate and efficiency of gain and survivability of weanling pigs during a 28-d postweaning period were not influenced by the prepartum diet of their dam.