How is piglet milk powder considered high-quality? Nutrifeed expert: meet these four conditions [Webinar]

Feeding piglet milk can stimulate the growth potential of piglets

Why do piglets need to be fed with extra piglet milk? Inge van As, a researcher piglets at Nutrifeed in the Netherlands, first introduced the necessity of feeding piglets through a short video.

The video mentions that in recent years, the number of born piglets has increased sharply. But the milk production of sows is not increasing equally, which means that there is less milk per piglet available, which also means that the energy provided by sows can no longer meet the energy level required by piglets to reach their growth potential. Therefore, providing piglet milk will give extra energy to the piglets to compensate for the lower milk production of the sow. At the meantime, giving them an advantage when competing for sow milk. In addition, the nutrients of high-quality piglet milk are tailored according to the digestion and absorption capacity of piglets, which brings benefits of not only giving full growth potential for piglets, but also keeping sows in good condition and preventing excessive weight loss.

In Inge’s view, 4 requirements should be met for a high-quality piglet milk powder:

1. Selection of excellent quality and palatable(dairy) ingredients.
2. Good solubility
3. Stability
4. An optimal nutrient composition

Inge also shared two trials to show the benefits of feeding piglet milk during her presentation.

“The first trial in our pig farm indicated a slightly higher creep feed intake for the group fed the piglet milk. The combination of the milk alongside the creep feed resulted in a higher weight at day 24, and a weight difference of 500 grams at weaning in favor of group that received the piglet milk. So, providing a piglet milk has an added value for the growth performance of suckling piglets.”

“The second trial at a Chinese commercial farm we conducted together with a professor from the Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Both the groups with multiparous sows and the group with piglets from gilts that received the Porcolac Power piglet milk had a significant higher weight at day 21. This practical trial again shows added value of providing a piglet milk on the growth performance of pigs.”

There the conclusion is: Providing piglet milk will compensate for the shortcomings of the sow and to fully fulfill the need of the piglets. The dairy protein, fat and lactose in piglet milk will help the piglets to reach their full growth potential and will result in a better performance. Lastly it will support the smaller and weaker piglets to have a reduced mortality. So, for the best start in life, providing piglet milk is essential!