Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1970

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department / School

Animal Science

Abstract

Studies designed to investigate the factors affecting stored energy levels of baby pigs at birth and changes on energy sources during early neonatal life were conducted over a three year period. During the three years 604 newborn pigs representing 85 different litters were partially or completely analyzed chemically at ages ranging from 0 to 72 hours. Various treatments of the dam during gestation and treatment of the newborn pig were utilized. The treatments used in the different trials were: (1) gestation weight gain of the gilts of either 0 to 10 kg or 10 to 20 kg, (2) energy intakes of 5924, 6183 or 6975 Kcal of metabolizable energy (ME) per day for 10 days prior to farrowing, (3) daily energy intake to meet the resting metabolic requirement of the gilt, resting metabolic requirement plus 2000 Kcal ME per day, for 10 days prior to farrowing, (4) feeding 0 or 800 mg of dichlorvos per sow per day for 21 to 30 days prior to farrowing, (5) administration of 2 g sucrose, orally, and 1 IU insulin, subcutaneously, per kg body weight to pigs at birth and (6) sacrifice and tissue sampling of pigs at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, 36, 48 or 72 hours of age. Gilts gaining 10 to 20 kg during gestation produced pigs with higher liver glycogen and total body ash and lower liver fat, blood reducing sugar levels and total body fat at birth than pigs from gilts gaining 0 to 10 kg of body weight. Feeding gilts either 5924, 6183 or 6975 Kcal of ME per day for 10 days prior to farrowing had no effect on liver or muscle glycogen, Liver fa or moisture of the neonatal pig. Gilts fed at a level of 2000 Kcal of ME more than their resting metabolic requirement per day for 10 days prior to farrowing produced pigs with a slower growth rate to 72 hr of age than gilts fed either at their resting metabolic requirement or metabolic requirement plus 1000 Kcal per day. Pigs from gilts receiving 800 mg dichlorvos per day for 21 to 30 days prior to farrowing had higher liver glycogen levels and total body ash at birth, lower total body fat and moisture and less body weight gain to 72 hr of age. Administration of sucrose and insulin to the new born pig produced lower serum glucose levels at 3 and 18 hr of age and higher serum fructose levels at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 hr of age. Chemical analyses of liver, muscle and blood samples for the three years showed the following changes during the early neonatal period: (1) liver glycogen levels decreased from birth (11.5 to 14.9%) to 36 hr of age (3 to 4%) and then increased to 5.0% at 72 hr of age, (2) muscle glycogen decreased steadily from 8.5 to 9.0% at birth to 2.8% at 72 hr of age, (3) liver fat increased from birth (1.0 1.6%) to 12 or 18 hr (2.5 to 2.7%) and then decreased to 72 hr of age (1.6%), (4) liver moisture increased from birth (73%) to 18 hr (77 to 78.5%) and then decreased to 76% at 72 hr of age, (5) liver weight, expressed as a percent of body weight, decreased from 2.7% at birth to2.3% at 18 hr and then increased to 3.2% at 72 hr of age, (6) total reducing sugar content of the blood increased from birth (120 mg per 100 ml) to 12 hr (124 mg per 100 ml), decreased to 118 mg per 100 ml at 18 hr and then increased to 128 mg per 100 ml at 72 hr of age, (7) serum triglycerides increased from 190 mg per 100 ml at birth to 305 mg per 100 ml at 36 hr of age, (8) serum glucose increased from 50 mg per 100 ml at birth to 122 mg per 100 ml at 36 hr of age, (9) serum fructose decreased rapidly from birth (41 mg per 100 ml) to 24 hr of age (4.0 mg per 100 ml) and then decreased slightly to 3.5% at 36 hr of age, and (10) total urine sugar content of the urine decreased from birth to 36 hr of age. Changes in total body composition during the first 72 hr of life were characterized by: (1) decreased moisture content from 82.87% at birth to 79.65% at 72 hr of age, (2) increased fat content from birth (6.73%) to 72 hr of age (20.99%), (3) increased protein content from 54.26% at birth to 56.47% at 24 hr of age and then decrease protein content to 72 hr of age (52.53%), and (4) decreased ash content from 16.4% at birth to 13.74% at 72 hr of age.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Swine -- Breeding

Animals --Infancy

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

94

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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