Impact of synergistic blend of organic acids on the performance of late gestating sows and their offspring

Figures & data

Table 1. Composition of the basal diet (as fed basis).

Ingredient, %	Gestation	Lactation
Maize, ground	42.52	50.99
Soybean meal, 48% CP	3.00	26.74
Soybean hull and dehulled	12.15
Palm kernel meal	2.00
Wheat	22.00
Wheat bran	10.00	1.00
Rice bran		5.00
Rapeseed meal, 43% CP		3.50
Tallow		6.05
Soybean oil	1.52
Molasses	3.00	3.50
Dicalcium phosphate (DCP)		1.64
Mono-calcium phosphate (MCP)	0.74
Limestone	1.18	0.76
Salt	0.50
Methionine, 98%	0.02
Threonine, 98%	0.09
Lysine, 25%	0.59
L-Lysine-HCl, 78%		0.12
NaCl (sodium chloride)	0.15	0.50
Vitamin premix^1	0.27	0.10
Mineral premix^2	0.27	0.10
Phytase, 5000 G		0.01
Total	100	100
Calculated value, %
Dry matter	3260	88.87
Metabolisable energy	3260	14.47
Crude protein (CP)	13.00	18.34
Crude fat	3.80	9.16
Crude ash	4.90
Crude fibre	5.80
Lysine	0.68	1.08
Calcium	0.75	1.06
Total phosphorus	0.50	0.73

¹Provided per kg of complete diet: 16,800 U vitamin A; 2400 U vitamin D₃; 108 mg vitamin E; 7.2 mg vitamin K; 18 mg riboflavin; 80.4 mg niacin; 2.64 mg thiamine; 45.6 mg D-pantothenic; 0.06 mg cobalamine; 12 mg Cu (as CuSO₄); 60 mg Zn (as ZnSO₄); 24 mg Mn (as MnSO₄); 0.6 mg I (as Ca (IO₃)₂); 0.36 mg Se (as Na₂SeO₃). ²Provided per kilogram of complete diet: vitamin A, 12,100 U; vitamin D₃, 2000 U; vitamin E, 48 U; vitamin K₃, 1.5 mg; riboflavin, 6 mg; niacin, 40 mg; D-pantothenic, 17 mg; biotin, 0.2 mg; folic acid, 2 mg; choline, 166 mg; vitamin B₆, 2 mg; and vitamin B₁₂, 28 μg. ^bProvided per kilogram of complete diet: Cu (as CuSO₄·5H₂O), 15 mg; Zn (as ZnSO₄), 50 mg; Mn (as MnO₂), 54 mg; I (as KI), 0.99 mg; and Se (as Na₂SeO₃·5H₂O), 0.25 mg.

Table 2. Composition of creep feed (as fed basis).

Ingredients, %	Suckling pigs
Corn	37.29
Soybean meal	12.00
Fermented soybean meal	10.00
LT fish meal	7.60
Soy oil	3.13
DCP (dicalcium phosphate)	1.24
Limestone	0.60
Sugar	3.00
Whey protein	11.00
Lactose	12.80
L-Lysine – HCL	0.35
DL-Met	0.18
Threonine	0.21
Choline, 50%	0.10
Salt	0.10
Vitamin premix^a	0.20
Mineral premix^b	0.20
Calculated value (%)
Protein	20.0
Fat	5.40
Calcium	0.80
Phosphorus	0.70
Digestible energy (DE)	4000
Lys	1.60
Met	0.48
Lactose	20

^aProvided per kilogram of complete diet: vitamin A, 12,100 U; vitamin D₃, 2000 U; vitamin E, 48 U; vitamin K₃, 1.5 mg; riboflavin, 6 mg; niacin, 40 mg; d-pantothenic, 17 mg; biotin, 0.2 mg; folic acid, 2 mg; choline, 166 mg; vitamin B₆, 2 mg; and vitamin B₁₂, 28 μg. ^bProvided per kilogram of complete diet: Fe (as FeSO₄·7H₂O), 90 mg; Cu (as CuSO₄·5H₂O), 15 mg; Zn (as ZnSO₄), 50mg; Mn (as MnO₂), 54 mg; I (as KI), 0.99 mg; and Se (as Na₂SeO₃·5H₂O), 0.25 mg.

Figure 1. A schematic view of the experiment.

Table 3. Effect of SGG supplement on sow reproductive performance.

Item	Control	SGG-Low	SGG-High	SEM	p-Value
Number of sows	50	50	50
Parity	2.60	2.60	2.60	0.20	1.00
Lactation length, days	21	21	21
Average daily feed intake, kg
Gestation	2.44	2.44	2.46	0.007	.16
Lactation	7.18^b	7.20^ab	7.21^a	0.008	.04
Sow bodyweight, kg
Pre-farrowing	179.79	179.62	179.47	1.72	.96
Post-farrowing	155.69	156.08	155.46	1.62	.86
Weaning	138.69	139.65	139.35	1.63	.68
BW change^1	24.09	23.53	24.00	0.23	.15
BW change^2	17.00^a	16.44^b	16.11^b	0.21	.0003
Backfat thickness, mm
Pre-farrowing	19.20	19.20	19.20	0.18	.98
Post-farrowing	18.54	18.65	18.61	0.18	.90
Weaning	16.50	17.10	16.90	0.20	.08
BF change^1	0.70	0.60	0.60	0.09	.76
BF change^2	2.16^a	1.71^b	1.78^b	0.15	<.001
Body condition score
Pre-farrowing	3.30	3.30	3.30	0.03	.82
Post-farrowing	3.09	3.18	3.17	0.03	.10
Weaning	2.82	2.91	2.88	0.03	.17
Days to oestrus, days	3.94	3.89	3.77	0.12	.59
Litter size
Birth weight, kg	1.52	1.54	1.55	0.03	.13
Total born, head	13.81	13.90	14.02	0.23	.72
Total alive, head	13.23	13.49	13.68	0.19	.17
Stillbirth, head	0.52	0.41	0.33	0.09	.16
Mummification, head	0.063^a	0.0009^b	0.004^b	0.02	.04
Survival rate, %	95.94^b	97.14^a	97.66^a	0.70	.05

Control – Basal diet; SGG-Low and SGG-High (0.1% and 0.3%, a synergistic blend of short- and medium-chain organic acids, respectively). ¹BW and BF change – difference between pre- and post-farrowing. ²BW and BF change – difference between post-farrowing and weaning BW.

SGG: short- and medium-chain organic acids; BW: body weight; BF: back fat; SEM: standard error of means.

^a,bMeans in the same row with different superscripts differ (p ≤ .05).

Table 4. Effect of SGG supplementation on litter performance.

Item	Control	SGG-Low	SGG-High	SEM	p Value
Pigs/litter
INO – day 1 (start, foster)	12.00	12.00	12.00
FNO – day 21	11.70	11.70	11.80	0.100	.59
Body weight, kg
day 1 (start, foster)	1.57	1.59	1.60	0.038	.11
day 7	2.68^b	2.71^a	2.73^a	0.065	.07
day 14	4.30^b	4.36^a	4.40^a	0.069	.02
day 21	6.41^b	6.57^a	6.63^a	0.077	<.001
Litter weaning weight, kg, day21	19.52	19.52	19.53	0.010	.98
Average daily gain, g
days 1–7	159.03	160.43	162.04	13.353	.38
days 7–14	229.89	234.97	238.52	13.720	.23
days 14–21	302.25	314.80	319.30	15.910	.41
days 1–21	230.55^b	236.97^a	239.89^a	3.241	<.001
Average daily feed intake, g
days 1–7	4.89	5.03	4.95	0.176	.91
days 7–14	47.03	47.40	47.46	0.436	.75
days 14–21	106.35	107.78	108.13	0.898	.34
days 1–21	59.15	59.88	60.27	3.665	.13
Gain-to-feed ratio
days 1–7	34.58	36.09	35.53	2.165	.88
days 7–14	4.90	4.98	5.06	0.204	.60
days 14–21	2.86	2.93	2.97	0.177	.07
days 1–21	3.98	4.04	4.05	0.274	.36
Litter CV, %
day 1 (birth)	13.38^b	12.28^a	12.15^a	0.789	.03
day 21	11.68	11.13	10.75	2.415	.28

Control – Basal diet; SGG-Low and SSG-High (0.1% and 0.3%, a synergistic blend of short- and medium-chain organic acids, respectively).

SGG: short- and medium-chain organic acids; INO: initial number of piglets; FNO: final number of piglets; SEM: standard error of means; CV: coefficient of variation.

^a,bMeans in the same row with different superscripts differ (p ≤ .05).

Table 5. Effect of SGG supplementation on bacteria counts in the faeces of sows.

Items, log10cfu/g	Control	SGG-Low	SGG-High	SEM	p Value
Pre-farrowing
Lactobacillus	9.06	9.07	9.06	0.019	.93
E. coli	7.15	7.16	7.16	0.015	.99
Clostridium perfringens	8.08	8.08	8.07	0.019	.94
Post-farrowing
Lactobacillus	9.07	9.08	9.09	0.019	.62
E. coli	7.14	7.12	7.10	0.015	.15
Clostridium perfringens	8.14	8.10	8.09	0.019	.16
Day 7 lactation
Lactobacillus	9.06	9.09	9.11	0.019	.17
E. coli	7.14	7.11	7.09	0.015	.14
Clostridium perfringens	8.11^a	8.07^ab	8.05^b	0.019	.05

Control – Basal diet; SGG-Low and SGG-High (0.1% and 0.3%, a synergistic blend of short- and medium-chain organic acids, respectively).

SEM: standard error of means; SGG: short- and medium-chain organic acids.

^a,bMeans in the same row with different superscripts differ (p ≤ .05).

Table 6. Effect of SGG supplementation on bacteria counts in the faeces of piglets.

Items, log10cfu/g	Control	SGG-Low	SGG-High	SEM	p Value
Day 7
Lactobacillus	9.06	9.08	9.09	0.018	.37
E. coli	7.10	7.10	7.10	0.016	.96
Clostridium perfringens	7.98	7.99	7.96	0.021	.67
Day 21
Lactobacillus	9.09	9.10	9.13	0.018	.45
E. coli	7.14	7.14	7.12	0.016	.47
Clostridium perfringens	7.96	7.93	7.91	0.021	.15

Control – Basal diet; SGG-Low and SGG-High (0.1% and 0.3%, a synergistic blend of short- and medium-chain organic acids, respectively).

SEM: standard error of means; SGG: short- and medium-chain organic acids.

Data availability statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.