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Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in
sows
M.J. Estienne, Ph.D.
2012- Allen D. Leman Swine Conference
Tidewater ARECSwine Program
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Timeline Representing the “Life” of a Replacement Gilt
Birth Weaning- 21 days
Puberty- ~180 days
Farrowing- ~365 days
Conception
Management of the Replacement Gilt
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
Post-farrowing- neonatal, nursery, grow-finish, gilt pool
Pre-conception-Genetic/Breeding System Decisions
Post-conception – prenatal, neonatal, nursery, grow-finish, gilt pool
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Event Day of Gestation
Pass into uterus 2 to 3
Differentiation of germ layers into ectoderm, mesoderm, and entoderm
7 to 8
Initial attachment to endometrium 11 to 12
Implantation 18
Testes or Ovaries differentiated 28
Formation of scrotum in male and clitoris in female 44
Secretion of pituitary hormones begins 50
Formation of seminal vesicles, prostate and bulbourethral gland in male , and oviducts, uterus, and vagina in female
51
Testes enter inguinal canal in male 95
Birth 114
Adapted from Pond et al., 1991
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Fetal Programming (Barker, 1997) is a process by which an acute or chronic stimulus in utero elicits a response in the fetus that permanently impacts physiologic function later in life.
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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In swine, fetuses are programmed as a consequence of:
Intrauterine Growth Retardation (IUGR)
Factors such as husbandry and handling of the gestating sow
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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National Animal Health Monitoring System, 2008
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
1990 1995 2000 20068
9
10
11
12
BornBorn LiveWeaned
Year
Litt
er
Siz
e
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3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 180
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Pig
s w
ith b
irth
we
igh
ts
< 1
.0 k
g, %
Litter Size
(1) (3)(0) (2) (3) (9)(7)
(8)(11)
(18)
(18)
(14)
(8)
(5)
(3)
(1)
Litters farrowed (n = 111) at the Tidewater AREC 4/11/09 – 7/18/10
(#) = number of litters
Tidewater ARECSwine Program
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Tidewater ARECSwine Program
Series10
20
40
60
80
100
54.4 92.4
< 1.0 > 1.0
Birth Weight, kg
Pig
s w
eane
d, %
Litters farrowed (n = 50) containing one to five light birth weight (< 1 kg) and one or more heavy birth weight (> 1 kg) pigs.
P < 0.01
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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From: Fix , J.S. and M.T. See. 2009. Birth weight impacts weaning through finishing closeout. National Hog Farmer 54(12):14-15.
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Ovarian development in intrauterine growth-retarded (IUGR) and normally developed piglets originating from the same litter
Adapted from Da Silva-Buttkus et al., 2003
Item Normal Runt SE P
No. of piglets 14 14 --- ---
Body weight, kg 1.55 0.72 0.04 0.01
Ovarian mass, mg 108 51 9.6 0.01
No. of primordial follicles* 235 268 20.1 0.05
No. of primary follicles* 20 11 3 0.01
No. of secondary follicles* 1.0 0.0 0.5 0.05
*Values expressed per mm2 of ovarian cortex.
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.25100
125
150
175
200
225
250
Litter Average Birth Weight, kg
Age
at
Pub
erty
, d
r = -0.43, P < 0.1
Tidewater ARECSwine Program
Age at puberty in gilts from litters (n = 33) with different average pig birth weights . Each point represents mean for 2 to 7 gilts.
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Series1160
170
180
190
200
210
186.7 198.3
> 1.5 < 1.5
Age
at
Pub
erty
, d
Average Litter Birth Weight, kg
P = 0.09
Tidewater ARECSwine Program
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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In swine, fetuses are programmed as a consequence of:
Intrauterine Growth Retardation (IUGR)
Factors such as husbandry and handling of the gestating sow
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Title Here, Optional or Unit IdentifierO’Gorman et al., 2007
Fetal exposure to maternal stress influences age at puberty in gilts
Crossbred sows served as controls or were stressed by subjection to daily restraint for 5 min during wk 12 to 16 of gestation.
Control Stressed150155160165170175
158
172
Age
at
Pub
erty
, d
P < 0.05
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Tidewater ARECSwine Program
Type of accommodation during gestation affects growth performance and reproductive
characteristics of gilt offspring
Gilts were farrowed by gilts kept in individual crates or group pens throughout gestation, or crates for the first 30 d post-mating and then group pens for the remainder of gestation.
No effect (P > 0.82) of gestation accommodation on nursery ADG, ADFI, or G:F.
Estienne and Harper, 2010a
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Item: Crates Pens Crates/Pens
SE P
No. Pens 9 9 9 --- ---
Daily gain, kg 1.0 0.96 0.96 0.02 0.13
Daily feed, kg 2.61 2.62 2.52 0.14 0.54
Feed/Gain 2.60a 2.73b 2.62a 0.04 0.05
Last Rib Backfat, mm
10.9c 12.5d 12.1c,d 0.5 0.09
1Each pen contained three gilts each.a,b c,d Within a row, means with different superscripts differ.
Estienne and Harper, 2010a
Tidewater ARECSwine Program
Grow-finish performance
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Accommodation x week, P =0.04
0 2 4 6 8 10 1220
40
60
80
100
120
Crates PensCrates/Pens
*
*
Tidewater ARECSwine Program
Week
Bod
y w
eigh
t, k
g
Estienne and Harper, 2010a
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Tidewater ARECSwine Program
Type of accommodation during gestation affects growth performance and reproductive characteristics of gilt offspring
Estienne and Harper, 2010a
Item Crates Pens Crates/Pens
SE P
Avg. wt of ovaries, g 9.1a 10.8b 9.9ab 1.0 0.07
Uterus wt, g 583.9 530.6 557.0 28.0 0.42
Follicular fluid wt, g 2.66a 4.55b 3.05a 0.59 0.08
Corpora lutea 15.3 16.1 14.9 0.7 0.55
Age at puberty, d 175.4 170.7 169.6 4.4 0.61
Pubertal by 165 d of age, %
13.0a 47.6b 41.7b --- 0.05
ab Within a row, means with different superscripts differ .
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Tidewater ARECSwine Program
Cortisol concentrations in serum of gilts kept in individual crates or group pens for the first
30 d post-mating
Group pens Crates0
25
50
75
100
57.1
79.4
Cor
tisol
, n
g/m
L se
rum
Estienne and Harper, 2006
P < 0.06
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
Management of the suckling pig and future reproduction
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Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
Series160
70
80
90
100
85.481.5
Fa
rro
win
g R
ate
, %
< 7 > 10
Neonatal litter size, pigs
P < 0.10
Flowers, 2008
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Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
1 2 3 Total8
9
10
11
12
Pig
s b
orn
live
1 2 3 Total8
9
10
11
12
SmallLarge
Parity
Boar Exposure @ 140 d
Neonatal Litter Size
Boar Exposure @ 170 d
Neonatal Litter Size x Age at Boar Exposure, P < 0.05
*
Flowers, 2008
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Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
Series10
25
50
75
56.3
37.6
So
ws
reta
ine
d a
fte
r th
ree
pa
ritie
s, %
< 7 > 10
Neonatal litter size, pigs
P < 0.05
Flowers, 2008
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Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
Management of the nursery pig and future reproduction
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Effect of space allowance during rearing (from 38 to 128 kg body weight) on performance of PIC gilts over three parities
1.13 m2 0.77 m2 SE P
No. of gilts 510 747 --- ---
Gilts per pen 15 22 --- ---
ADG, g 758 752 10 0.49
Age at puberty, d 182 184 1.1 0.01
Parities 1 to 3 (Data for gilts farrowing 1, 2 or 3 litters)
Total born 25.7 24.7 0.8 0.21
Born alive 23.2 22.5 0.7 0.37
Removed by end of parity 3, % 44.6 48.2 2.3 0.28
Adapted from Young et al., 2008
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
Series1500
520
540
560
580
600
6 gilts0.5 m2/gilt
12 gilts0.25 m2/gilt
6 gilts0.25 m2/gilt
AD
G,
g
P < 0.01
Cho et al., 2008
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Parity 1 Parity 20
2
4
6
8
10
12
8 gilts/pen16 gilts/pen
Pig
s B
orn
Aliv
e
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
Lindemann (personal communication)
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Tidewater ARECSwine Program
MethodsAnimal work performed at production facilities owned and
operated by Smithfield Premium Genetics (nursery: 40 pens/room; 7 rooms).
At weaning, gilts will be randomly placed in nursery pens to allow 0.17, 0.25, or 0.33 m2 floor space/pig.
Gilts weighed at the beginning and end of 5-wk nursery phase of production and average daily gain determined.
Blood samples will be collected from subset of gilts to determine blood chemistry profiles, complete blood count and cortisol levels.
Subsequent reproductive performance determined through three parities (at least 500 gilt/sow records per treatment group).
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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Summary
Increasing litter size increases the proportion of pigs with low-birth weight phenotypes.
In addition to well-documented poorer growth performance and carcass quality, low-birth weight pigs are programmed in utero such that reproductive characteristics are adversely affected.
Management and husbandry practices to which sows are exposed may program fetuses such that future growth and reproduction is impacted.
Stressors during the suckling and nursery phases of production may have long-term consequences on reproductive efficiency.
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
2012- Allen D. Leman Swine Conference
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Implications
Long-term, the low-birth weight pig issue must be addressed through genetics.
Short-term, need for nutritional or management strategies that mitigate at least some of the consequences of fetal programming in low-birth weight pigs.
Refine farrowing room and nursery management to consider effects on future reproduction.
Manage gestating sows to increase welfare.
2012- Allen D. Leman Swine Conference
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows
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The EndTidewater ARECSwine Program2012- Allen D. Leman Swine
Conference
Early-in-life experiences impact lifetime reproductive performance and longevity in sows