Farmers should ensure that all newly born piglets in a litter get some of their sow’s first-milk, called colostrum, within the first 24 hours after birth. This ensures that the piglets receive protective antibodies to fight off diseases and is particularly important for weaker ones that may
not otherwise get a chance to suckle. “You always have some piglets that are so strong that they get more than they need,” explains Associate Prof. Min Fan at the University of Guelph’s Department of
Animal and Poultry Science. “They’re always suckling and then some of the weak ones don’t get a chance.” During the first three weeks of life, piglets’ intestinal tracts are immature. Their intestinal tract is the biggest immune response system in their bodies. But, with an immature system,
their intestinal tissue cells aren’t ready to produce a lot of protective immune cells and antibodies.
“They are very vulnerable to infection,” says Fan, who has been studying piglets’ intestinal tract development. Piglets don’t receive any protective immunoglobulin against diseases from their sows during gestation. (Immunoglobulins are plasma proteins that immune cells produce to fight against infectious diseases.) But, during the one or two days after birth, by drinking the colostrum, they
get a “passive immunity” to fight against infectious disease and toxins from infectious bacteria. This passive immunity stays in the piglets’ bodies for two or more weeks. Two days after farrowing or birth, the sow’s colostrum production stops. By then, a piglet’s intestinal tract has changed
and it can’t absorb immunoglobulin to obtain the passive immunity from the sow. Starting suckling piglets on a creep diet helps their intestinal system to develop starch digestive capacity. The creep feed should include some starch ingredients, such as finely processed corn meal, Fan says.
He recommends starting creep feed as early as possible. These diets are expensive, but the piglets don’t eat a lot. “All they need is a little bit of it to induce gut adaptation,” Fan adds. “Maybe a simple way a farmer can do it is to add some finely ground corn meal or corn starch.”
These starchy carbohydrates help induce the piglets’ starch-digestion enzymes. It also assists the enzyme system in developing more quickly. And feeding creep feed helps piglets adapt to solid diets when they’re weaned. Farmers usually use antibiotics to curb pathogenic bacteria existence and growth. But, with the growing concerns about anti-microbial resistance, this approach has been
challenged. “Alternative ways are being explored,” Fan says. There are other strategies farmers can use, such as using lactic acid, prebiotics and probiotics to prevent the development of pathogenic bacteria in piglets during the transition from suckling sow’s milk to weaning diets.