Growth and development of offspring following supplementation of sow diets with oil during mid to late gestation

• Main Authors: J. Laws, A. Laws, I.J. Lean, P.F. Dodds, L. Clarke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2007-01-01
• Series: Animal
• Subjects: growth; oil; piglets weight gain
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731107000699

This study aimed to determine the consequences of altering the fatty acid profile of sow diets during mid-to-late gestation; oils of different fatty acid composition were chosen as energy supplements to provide diets with different fatty acid profiles. Forty-eight multiparous sows were used to evaluate the effects of fat supplementation from day 60 of gestation until parturition. Sows were allocated to either 3 kg/day of commercial sow pellets (control; C) or an experimental diet consisting of 3 kg/day of commercial sow pellets supplemented with 10% extra energy in the form of excess pellets (E), palm oil (P), olive oil (O), sunflower oil (S) or fish oil (F). From days 0 to 60 of gestation, all sows were given 3 kg/day of sow pellets as for the C group. The E diet resulted in the heaviest piglets at birth whereas the offspring of O and S sows were the lightest at birth. The offspring of S sows remained lighter throughout the pre-weaning period, and were also the leanest by 14 days of age. In contrast, pigs born to S sows possessed more fat by the time they reached commercial end point (≈140 days of age). In conclusion, altering the fatty acid profile of the sow diet during the second half of gestation has long-term consequences for the development of their offspring.