Porcine Neonatal Nutrition: the Effect of Diet on Blood Serum Proteins and Performance of the Baby Pig

Abstract

Neonatal serum protein patterns from unfed pigs were compared with serum from mature pigs. This yielded a profile of an immature serum protein pattern and a mature pattern. The capacity of 4 diets to augment and influence changes from the immature to the mature serum protein pattern was determined. It was found with pigs nursing the sow that there were not only rather intense and immediate changes in serum proteins, but also a continuous and rapid alteration toward the mature serum protein pattern. Pigs fed an amino acid milk had little ability to promote normal changes associated with this serum protein maturation. The observations of pigs fed cow's milk and artificial milk were intermediate between the two extremes of those fed sow's milk and amino acid milk. That is, in the first 4 to 7 days, little or no change was observed in the serum protein patterns; however, from then on, changes, similar to those seen in the pigs fed by the sow, started to occur, but at a slower rate. The ability of pigs having static, immature patterns was inferior to that of piglets having rapidly maturing patterns, in reacting to treatment.