Swine Survivability: A Look at the Correlation Between Colostrum Components and Weaning Age Numbers
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Pre-Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Technology
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
William DeWees, DVM
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
The goal of this research was to describe the relationship between the quality of colostrum produced by farrowing sows and the number of piglets weaned successfully. Previous work has shown that piglet survivability is often compromised by hypoglycemia, which stems from inadequate colostrum production in the sow. A random selection of farrowing sows was utilized for the collection of colostrum samples; those samples were analyzed for their specific bacterial components, and the number of piglets that survived until weaning were recorded for each sow. The results of each sow were then compared to determine whether fewer bacterial components illustrate a correlation with sufficient glucose levels, and ultimately what constitutes proper nutrition regarding newborn piglets.
Start Date
16-11-2018 2:30 PM
Fall Scholars Week 2018 Event
Honors College Senior Theses
Swine Survivability: A Look at the Correlation Between Colostrum Components and Weaning Age Numbers
The goal of this research was to describe the relationship between the quality of colostrum produced by farrowing sows and the number of piglets weaned successfully. Previous work has shown that piglet survivability is often compromised by hypoglycemia, which stems from inadequate colostrum production in the sow. A random selection of farrowing sows was utilized for the collection of colostrum samples; those samples were analyzed for their specific bacterial components, and the number of piglets that survived until weaning were recorded for each sow. The results of each sow were then compared to determine whether fewer bacterial components illustrate a correlation with sufficient glucose levels, and ultimately what constitutes proper nutrition regarding newborn piglets.