Feed piglets early weaned and effects on subsequent performance to finished

Abstract

Peruvian pig farming has been in recent times practicing weaning between 21 to 28 days of age, however, there is great interest in weaning piglets earlier to increase the number of piglets/pigs/year. The objective of this practice is to increase productivity in the intensive rearing of pigs, by reducing the interval between calvings/pigs/year. In this document, we will carry out an approach to alterations at the level of intestinal morphology, its effect on the activity of intestinal digestive enzymes as a consequence of weaning, as well as the implications that this entails at the level of voluntary consumption of food and on the performance of the piglets in the post-rearing stages. Given that the consumption of food maintains the structure of the villi and that the digestive enzymes are dependent on the substrate, consequently, the use of diets during the pre-weaning phase, as a supplement to breast milk, has minimized the morphological and physiological changes of the system digestive. Piglets that received preweaning feed had better growth rates in the period immediately after weaning. not only do they increase their weight at weaning which leads to better subsequent performance, but also, their performance is improved due to the increase in the development of their digestive system. In conclusion, piglets that manage to eat more food during the lactation and rearing stages, regardless of the forms of stimulation to achieve this goal, manage to achieve better weights on the market.