Description

Over the last twenty years, there have been major changes in pig production. One such change concerns the lactating sow: productivity, measured in terms of piglets weaned per year or litter weight at weaning, has increased dramatically. This development has major biological implications. The seventeen chapters in this book, all written by experts, provide an overview of the biology of the modern lactating sow.

Intensive genetic selection during the grower phase has resulted in a marked alteration in body composition of the sow and in noticeable increases in sow milk production. The repercussions of these developments for the sow’s immune, reproductive, thermoregulatory and general metabolic systems are discussed and placed within the context of overall nutrition, performance and well-being.

This comprehensive approach includes in-depth discussion of the following subjects:

• properties of milk composition in relation to pig growth and development;
• factors influencing milk production;
• metabolic interactions within and across pregnancies and lactations and throughout the sow’s lifetime.