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Article

Effect of Rye for Transition Sows on the Level of Piglet Serum Immunoglobulin Immunocrit

by
Bussarakam Chuppava
1,†,
Christian Homann
1,†,
Isabell Eckey
1,
Richard Grone
2,
Volker Wilke
1,*,‡ and
Christian Visscher
1,‡
1
Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, 30173 Hannover, Germany
2
KWS Lochow GmbH, 29303 Bergen, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
‡
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13631; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813631
Submission received: 1 August 2023 / Revised: 7 September 2023 / Accepted: 11 September 2023 / Published: 12 September 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Animal Feed, Nutrition and Production)
Browse Figure
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
A sustainable increase in livestock productivity cannot be achieved without the use of sustainable animal feed. Due to the growing awareness of the long-term benefits of sustainability, there is an increasing interest in replacing traditional feed resources with the most sustainable feedstuffs in pig production. Rye production is relatively sustainable compared to wheat. This farm study investigated whether the newborn body weight as well as antibody transfer in piglets (serum immunoglobulin immunocrit) are affected by feeding rye instead of wheat grain to transition sows. A total of 237 sows and their piglets (n = 711) from three farms located in northern Germany participated in this study. During the transition period, the sows were fed either a wheat-based diet used as the control diet (CON) or a 30% rye diet (RYE) for 7 days before the calculated farrowing date. On the day of farrowing, piglet body weights within 24 h post-natal (PN) were recorded, and blood samples were taken from the lightest, medium, and heaviest piglets in each litter to determine the quantification of immunoglobulins in the piglets. Feeding rye-based diets to the sows showed no differences in the body weight of the newborns (within 24 h) compared to the CON group in all body weight categories, except on Farm C in light and medium piglets, where high BW were observed in the CON group. The immunocrit ratio did not show any differences between both feeding groups. A relationship between newborn body weight and immunocrit ratios in the CON and the RYE groups was observed only on farm A. Overall, this study showed that including amounts of rye up to 30% in sows’ diets during the transition period had no negative effects on newborn piglet body weight or on antibody transfer and therefore can be considered an adequate replacement for wheat (up to 30%) in diets for transition sows. However, future research is needed to determine whether a higher proportion of rye may be used.

1. Introduction

Livestock production systems have received increasing attention in recent years since they have been clearly identified as a major environmental factor [1]. Therefore, the sustainability of animal feed in livestock production systems is important because it represents a significant reduction in the global environmental carbon footprint [2]. Without the use of sustainable feedstuffs while also ensuring productivity, an increase in the sustainability of livestock production is not possible. Therefore, choices in animal nutrition play a crucial role in achieving the challenging goal of sustainable animal production [3]. Today, the main challenges for pig production are to maximize feed efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts and production costs [2]. Due to the growing awareness of the long-term benefits of economic sustainability, there is an increasing interest in replacing the commonly used components with the most sustainable feedstuffs in pig production [4].
Rye (Secale cereale L.) production is relatively sustainable since rye is a vigorously growing cereal grain with enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress (e.g., light or acid soils with low fertility, low temperatures) [5]. Thus, rye demands significantly less water, needs less fertilizer, and can reduce CO2 emissions in animal production compared to wheat [6,7,8]. Furthermore, rye is an inexpensive raw feed material in comparison with wheat [7,9]. Nonetheless, feeding rye to swine has been reduced in the past because of its lower nutritive value compared to other cereal grains [10,11]. The presence of undesirable factors like ergot alkaloids might have influenced the palatability of the rye grain negatively in the past [12]. Nevertheless, new varieties of hybrid rye are characterized by some nutritional benefits, which enable reducing the amount of antinutritive compounds, for example, ergot alkaloids [9,13]. In addition, rye has a greater content of non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) and might lead to increased intestinal fermentation with potential beneficial effects on gut health [14]. Therefore, feeding rye to pigs has become increasingly interesting. Modern hybrid rye varieties can be successfully used for feeding pigs [15]. Feeding pigs in amounts of up to 60% hybrid rye did not influence the daily growth, carcass traits, or meat quality characteristics of the pigs [15]. Even with high dietary levels of rye (69%) in the diet, there are no negative effects compared to wheat on growth performance, e.g., daily weight gain, feed intake, or fecal characteristics [14]. In addition, hybrid rye may replace up to 75% of the corn in diets without negatively impacting sow and piglet performance for gestating and lactating sows [16]. However, limited information is available regarding the feeding of rye instead of wheat to gestating and lactating sows in Europe. In response to renewed interest in rye for pig production, our study focused on transition sows, including newborn piglets.
The importance of immunoglobulins (Ig) is undisputed against the background of passive immunity transfer from the mother to the newborn piglets, as it is fundamental for their survival and growth development [17,18]. The immunity and energy supplied to the newborn by colostrum are therefore essential [18,19]. Colostrum is the first secretion of the mammary gland and the first source of nutrients, e.g., fat, proteins, and Ig [20]. The Ig uptake via ingestion of colostrum is of paramount significance for the development of the immune system in newborn piglets [19,21], which is rapidly transferred across the intestinal barrier into the piglet’s blood [19]. The risk of neonatal mortality therefore depends on the quality of the transfer of passive immunity [19]. Therefore, the survival rate of piglets is positively correlated with the concentrations of Ig in plasma, particularly IgG [22]. Consequently, the measurement of the level of piglet serum Ig immunocrit could be used as an indicator of both sow colostrum production and the suckling ability of the piglets [23,24].
The goal of performance-related feeding for sows, particularly in the transition period, is to increase the colostrum composition and quantity to supply all piglets [25]. Declerck et al. [26] demonstrated that feed composition seems to be particularly effective for optimizing colostrum supply as well as keeping the sows healthy. Therefore, the focus of interest was to test whether rye, as a more sustainable feed component, could replace an amount of wheat (up to 30%) in diets for sows and to estimate the effects of the transition period on the levels of piglet serum immunoglobulin immunocrit (an indicator for colostrum transfer) during the first 24 h in newborn piglets.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Ethical Statement

The animal experiments were approved in accordance with the rules and regulations of the German state, approved by the Ethics Committee for Animal Experiments of the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection (LAVES) reference 33.8-42502-05-20A557 and the State Office for Agriculture, Food Safety, and Fisheries Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (LALLF) reference 7221.3-2-018/20. The data were collected as part of a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Rye-SaFe: 2813IP026).

2.2. Animals and Farms

The field study data were collected from January 2021 to May 2022 on three piglet breeding farms located in northern Germany. The total number of sows on three farms is shown in Table 1. The farms were of different sizes, genetic backgrounds, and management systems (Table 1). The housing and management of sows and piglets were in line with commercial procedures and practices. In this study, a total of 237 sows participated (n = 80 sows on farm A, n = 78 sows on farm B, and n = 79 sows on farm C) with their piglets (N = 711 piglets; farms A: 240, B: 234, and C: 237).

2.3. Experimental Design and Diets

The individual animals, i.e., sows, were randomly chosen for each sub-trial. Differences in the number of groups included in the study and thus in the number of samples were due to different conditions on the farms. A total of half of the participating sows were fed a conventional diet containing wheat, i.e., the control feed (CON), while the other half received an experimental diet containing 30% rye (RYE) for seven days before the calculated farrowing date. The diet was given throughout the sucking period until weaning (three weeks post-partum). The commercial farm diet used as the control diet contained wheat, barley, soybean meal, and wheat bran as the main ingredients. The components of the control and experimental diets are presented in Table 2. To determine the chemical composition of the diets, these were analyzed using the methods of the Association of German Agricultural Analytic and Research Institutes e.V. (VDLUFA) [27]. An isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diet containing the required amount of rye was prepared from the commercial control diets. As the farms used different commercial diets, different experimental diets were required. After farrowing, the piglets received the colostrum from their dams directly after birth.

2.4. Sample Collection

2.4.1. Piglet Body Weight

On the day of farrowing, the individual body weights (BW) of the piglets were measured within the first 24 h post-natal (PN) with scales (EOB 60K20, KERN & SOHN GmbH, Balingen-Frommern, Germany (N = 711; farm A: 240, B: 234, C: 237). The weights were classified into three groups: light body weight (LBW), medium body weight (MBW), and heavy body weight (HBW).

2.4.2. Analysis of Serum Immunoglobulin Immunocrit

Blood samples of newborn piglets were also collected (farm A: 240, B: 234, C: 237) from V. cava cranialis within 24 h after birth from three piglets (one lightest, one medium, and one heaviest piglet) from each of the 80 litters on farm A, of the 78 litters on farm B, and of the 79 litters on farm C. Approximately 2 mL of blood samples were allowed to clot at room temperature. After clotting, the serum was separated by centrifugation (3000× g, 20 °C for six minutes). Serum was removed and frozen (−20 °C) until analysis.
To determine the quantification of immunoglobulins (Ig) transferred from the sow to the piglets, the immunocrit method according to Vallet et al. (2013) was used. Briefly, 100 µL of serum was mixed with 40% (wt/vol) ammonium sulfate to precipitate immunoglobulins and then loaded into a micro-hematocrit capillary tube (Hirschmann Laborgeräte GmbH & Co. KG, Eberstadt, Germany) and centrifuged for 10 min at 12,700× g at room temperature. Immunocrit was determined by the ratio of the length of the precipitate (in mm) divided by the length of the total volume (in mm).

2.5. Statistical Analysis

The statistical analysis was performed using SAS Version 7.1 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). The data were analyzed separately for each farm (Farm A, B, and C), and mean values as well as the standard deviation (SD) were calculated for all parameters. The PROC UNIVARIATE procedure of SAS was used to verify the normality and homogeneity of the variances of the residuals. In the case of normally distributed data, to detect significant differences between the diet groups, the two-sample t-test was used for analyzing body weight in the first 24 h as well as the immunocrit ratio. To compare the immunocrit ratios of the newborn piglets in the different body weight categories (light vs. medium vs. heavy), the Shapiro-Wilk test was used to check for normality. The Ryan-Einot-Gabriel-Welsch multiple range test was applied for normal distribution, whereas for non-normally distributed data, the Wilcoxon rank sum test was used. To evaluate the relationship between newborn body weight and immunocrit ratios, Pearson’s correlation was used for normally distributed data. Whereas, for non-normally distributed data sets, the Spearman rank correlation coefficient was calculated. The p ≤ 0.05 formed the basis of statistical significance for all statements concerning the results of the analysis.

3. Results

3.1. Newborn Piglet Body Weight and Serum Immunoglobulin Immunocrit

Results from the farms concerning newborn body weight (BW) in the first 24 h and immunocrit ratios in serum of piglets from sows fed with CON and RYE diets on farms A, B, and C are to be found in Table 3, Table 4 and Table 5, respectively.
On farm A, when comparing the newborn BW in the first 24 h after farrowing of the two feeding groups, there were no significant differences in all body weight categories (p > 0.05; Table 3). In addition, the immunocrit ratio in newborn piglets was not affected by diets fed to sows during the transition period. There were no significant effects of the diets on the immunocrit ratio within the different weight categories (p > 0.05; Table 3). Piglets in the heavy BW classification had no different immunocrit ratio compared with medium and light piglets (CON; p = 0.377, RYE; p = 0.396).
Table 3. Body weight and immunocrit ratio of the piglets in the first 24 h post-natal (PN) from sows fed control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets in the body weight categories (mean ± SEM) on farm A.
Table 3. Body weight and immunocrit ratio of the piglets in the first 24 h post-natal (PN) from sows fed control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets in the body weight categories (mean ± SEM) on farm A.
Body Weight Categories 1Body Weight 24 h PN (kg)Immunocrit Ratio
CONRYEp-Value
Feed		CONRYEp-Value
Feed
Light1.050 ± 0.0241.092 ± 0.0200.2970.167 ± 0.0110.157 ± 0.0120.745
Medium1.360 ± 0.0261.395 ± 0.0260.9410.176 ± 0.0110.164 ± 0.0100.760
Heavy1.712 ± 0.0391.726 ± 0.0380.8950.188 ± 0.0090.178 ± 0.0110.478
p-value BWC---0.3770.396-
1 Light = newborn piglets with the lowest body weight in each litter; medium = newborn piglets with medium body weight in each litter; heavy = newborn piglets with the heaviest body weight in each litter. BWC = Body weight categories. CON; N = 120, n = 40 each BWC, RYE; N = 120, n = 40 each BWC.
On farm B, no differences could be observed among CON and RYE groups regarding the BW within 24 h post-natal (PN) and the ratio of immunocrit of piglets (p > 0.05; Table 4). When comparing heavy-, medium-, and light-BW piglets within the feeding groups, there was no significance of the immunocrit ratio (CON; p = 0.329, RYE; p = 0.580, Table 4).
Table 4. Body weight and immunocrit ratio of piglets in the first 24 h post-natal (PN) from sows fed control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets in the body weight categories (mean ± SEM) on farm B.
Table 4. Body weight and immunocrit ratio of piglets in the first 24 h post-natal (PN) from sows fed control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets in the body weight categories (mean ± SEM) on farm B.
Body Weight Categories 1Body Weight 24 h PN (kg)Immunocrit Ration
CONRYEp-Value
Feed		CONRYEp-Value
Feed
Light0.901 ± 0.0241.049 ± 0.0230.6990.174 ± 0.0100.188 ± 0.0100.996
Medium1.242 ± 0.0331.333 ± 0.0280.2930.193 ± 0.0090.192 ± 0.0110.215
Heavy1.573 ± 0.0381.650 ± 0.0380.9460.188 ± 0.0100.203 ± 0.0110.509
p-value BWC---0.3290.580-
1 Light = newborn piglets with the lowest body weight in each litter; medium = newborn piglets with medium body weight in each litter; heavy = newborn piglets with the heaviest body weight in each litter. BWC = Body weight categories. CON; N = 117, n = 39 each BWC, RYE; N = 117, n = 39 each BWC.
On farm C, the determined BW in the first 24 h was significantly higher in the CON group (Table 5). Regarding the immunocrit ratio in the body weight categories, no significant differences between the CON and RYE groups could be observed (p > 0.05). In addition, there were no differences between heavy-, medium-, and light-BW piglets regarding the ratio of immunocrit (CON; p = 0.857, RYE; p = 0.593).
Table 5. Body weight and immunocrit ratio of piglets in the first 24 h post-natal (PN) from sows fed control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets in the body weight categories (mean ± SEM) on farm C.
Table 5. Body weight and immunocrit ratio of piglets in the first 24 h post-natal (PN) from sows fed control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets in the body weight categories (mean ± SEM) on farm C.
Body Weight Categories 1Body Weight 24 h PN (kg)Immunocrit Ratio
CONRYEp-Value
Feed		CONRYEp-Value
Feed
Light1.205 a ± 0.0441.144 b ± 0.0630.0170.188 ± 0.0080.161 ± 0.0100.965
Medium1.521 a ± 0.0891.416 b ± 0.042<0.0010.183 ± 0.0090.174 ± 0.0090.518
Heavy1.707 ± 0.0701.626 ± 0.0510.1960.187 ± 0.0080.164 ± 0.0090.056
p-value BWC---0.8570.593-
a,b Values within a row with different superscripts differ significantly at p ≤ 0.05. 1 Light = newborn piglets with the lowest body weight in each litter; medium = newborn piglets with a medium body weight in each litter; heavy = newborn piglets with the heaviest body weight in each litter. BWC = Body weight categories. CON; N = 117, n = 39 each BWC, RYE; N = 120, n = 40 each BWC.

3.2. Relationship between Newborn Piglet Body Weight and Serum Immunoglobulin Immunocrit

Figure 1 shows the relationship between the newborn piglet’s body weight and colostrum supply by measuring immunocrit ratios. On farm A, a low positive correlation was noted between the immunocrit ratio and the body weight of newborn piglets in the first 24 h of life (CON: r = 0.198; p = 0.030, and RYE: r = 0.218; p = 0.017, Figure 1a). On farms B (Figure 1b) and C (Figure 1c), the newborn piglets body weight did not influence the immunocrit ratio, neither in the CON nor the RYE groups.

4. Discussion

A sustainable increase in livestock productivity cannot be achieved without the use of sustainable animal feed [2,3]. Due to the ongoing rise in the price of feed ingredients and the limited quantity of raw materials [29], it is crucial to find adequate substitutes for frequently used feedstuffs to satisfy the nutritional needs of swine. Therefore, the increasing availability of sustainable grains such as hybrid rye to use as an alternative feedstuff has raised interest in swine production [15,30]. However, relatively little is known about whether feeding rye to transition sows has effects on the sow or piglets. The parameters chosen were the colostrum supply of the piglets, i.e., the Ig concentration in the serum of the piglets. Thus, a detailed assessment of the nutritional effectiveness of rye in sows during the transition period is still required.

4.1. Influence of Feeding Transition Sow on Newborn Body Weight

Special attention is currently being paid to variation in newborn body weight, as some findings suggest an increased within-litter newborn body weight variation in modern sows is related to piglet performance [31]. In addition, feeding during transition may possibly also have a spillover effect on the performance of the sow, i.e., farrowing performance, which, as a consequence, impacts reproductive output like litter size at birth and also piglet birth weight [32], as well as mammary development and colostrum production [33]. Results of our study indicated that on two of three farms, there were no differences among control and experimental diets fed to sows during the transition period for newborn body weight within-litter variation (light-, medium-, or heavy piglets), whereas on one farm (farm C), a higher BW was observed for light and medium piglets in sows fed a wheat-based diet. Due to the small number of animals as well as the short duration of the feeding experiment, however, the results of our study should be interpreted with caution. Further studies are still required to investigate the effect of including rye in the diet of transition sows on newborn body weight.
According to our results, rye may replace a portion of wheat up to 30% in diets for transition sows without adversely affecting newborn piglets BW. A previous study by McGhee and Stein [16] reported that up to 50% substitution of corn with hybrid rye in diets for gestating and lactating sows was possible without negatively affecting sow lactation performance or the body weights of piglets. In contrast, Sørensen and Krogsdahl [34] demonstrated that adding 60% hybrid rye to diets fed to gestating sows and including hybrid rye up to 35% in diets fed to lactating sows did not result in lower sow and litter performance in comparison to diets based on barley, wheat, and soybean meal. However, many factors influence within-litter variation of piglet birth weight, including year of sow birth, parity, season at conception, litter size, and nutritional management during late gestation [31,35]. Thus, further studies are needed to determine whether a higher inclusion rate of hybrid rye may be used to influence this within-litter body weight variation by means of sow nutrition, particularly when supplementing the feed with rye diets during the transition period.

4.2. Influence of Transition Sows’ Diet on the Quantity of Colostrum Supply

Due to the continuous selection for large litters, sufficient colostrum production is a huge challenge nowadays. It is recognized that colostrum is produced before the onset of farrowing [18]. Therefore, nutrition plays a crucial role during the transition period, especially during the last 5–7 days before farrowing until the first 3–5 days of lactation [36]. Consequently, the most critical time for piglet growth and survival before weaning is the first day after birth [19,37]. The diet consumed by pregnant sows in late gestation can influence colostrum production and, therefore, the amount of colostral IgG available and absorbed by their newborns [37]. Thus, colostrum intake can be effectively estimated from the piglet’s serum immunocrit concentration early after birth [38].
The quantity of colostrum supply was estimated by indirect measurement of serum Ig concentration using the immunocrit ratio of the piglets in the first 24 h post-partum [24]. The results of the immunocrit ratio in our study were in the range of 0.167–0.193 in the CON group and 0.157–0.203 in the RYE group. Our results are consistent with previous studies regarding the immunocrit ratio. Vallet et al. [23] observed in a research setting and reported an immunocrit ratio of 0.125 that coincided with high piglet survivability, whereas Peter et al. [21] stated that the immunocrit ratio of 0.116 was an achievable reference in a commercial production system, which also approximately corresponds to our results.
In the present study, there were no differences among sows fed wheat- and rye-based diets during the transition period regarding the quantity of colostrum supply within litter variation, either in light-, medium-, or heavy-piglets. To the best of our knowledge, a limited number of studies have evaluated the effect of including rye in the diet of transition sows on antibody transfer by measuring the level of piglet serum Ig immunocrit within-litter variation.
According to our results, on farm A, there was a relationship between newborn body weight and immunocrit ratios in the CON and the RYE groups. According to a previous study, serum IgG levels in piglets at 24 h are directly correlated with colostrum intake [19]. A higher immunocrit ratio in the group of piglets with a higher colostrum intake might be related to a higher Ig concentration in colostrum and is therefore linked to a higher body weight [39]. Similarly, in studies by Peters et al. [21] and Vande Pol et al. [40], who reported a tendency for serum immunocrit ratios to increase with newborn piglets body weight, the highest immunocrit ratios were obtained in newborn piglets with higher body weights. This suggests that heavier newborn piglets consume proportionally more colostrum than lighter littermates [39]. Moreover, heavier newborn piglets were more competitive at feeding time when compared to lighter piglets from the same litter [37]. However, in the present study, no relationship between newborn body weight and immunocrit ratios was observed on farms B and C, neither in the CON nor the RYE groups. The obtained data showed that newborn body weight had no effect on the ability of the piglets to ingest colostrum, as low-weight piglets also had high immunocrit ratios. Therefore, low body weights did not appear to affect the poor colostrum supply in our study. In a study by Schnier et al. [41], who reported that the immunocrit ratios, which are an indirect measurement of colostrum intake, did not differ between piglets in the light and heavy categories [38]. However, supplementing the sow diet with up to 30% rye during the transition period in this study may replace a portion of wheat without having any negative effects on the quantity of colostrum supply. Nevertheless, due to the small number of animals and the short experimental feeding period, the results of the current study should be considered with caution. Thus, further studies are required, including testing on a large number of animals and for a longer period of time, as well as the colostrum composition, in order to see clearer results.
This field experiment showed that feeding rye as a 30% substitution for wheat during the transition period did not negatively impact newborn body weights in the first 24 h or maternity antibody transfer. However, future research is needed to determine whether higher inclusion rates of hybrid rye may be used.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, V.W. and C.V.; methodology, B.C., C.H., I.E., V.W. and C.V.; validation, B.C. and C.H.; formal analysis, B.C., C.H. and I.E.; investigation, B.C., C.H., I.E. and V.W.; resources, C.V.; data maintenance, B.C., C.H. and I.E.; writing—creation of the initial draft, B.C. and C.H.; writing—review and editing, B.C., C.H., I.E., R.G., V.W. and C.V.; visualization, B.C., C.H., V.W. and C.V.; supervision, V.W. and C.V.; project administration, V.W. and C.V.; fundraising, C.V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by funds from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL, Germany) based on a decision of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany via the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE, Germany) under the Innovation Support Program (Funding code 2813IP026).

Institutional Review Board Statement

The animal study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Animal Testing of the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection (LAVES): reference 33.8-42502-05-20A557, date of approval: 25 November 2020; and the State Office for Agriculture, Food Safety, and Fisheries Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (LALLF): reference 7221.3-2-018/20, date of approval: 2 December 2020).

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the farms and families that participated in the field study and also Frances Sherwood-Brock for proofreading the manuscript to ensure correct English.

Conflicts of Interest

R.G. is employed by KWS Lochow GmbH. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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Sustainability 15 13631 g001
Figure 1. Relationship between newborn body weight and immunocrit ratios in 24-h-old piglets from sows fed control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets on farm A (a), farm B (b), and farm C (c). Farm A: CON; N = 120 and RYE; N = 120, Farm B: CON; N = 117 and RYE; N = 117, Farm C: N = 117 and RYE; N = 120. O symbol in this Figure is represented for one sample.
Figure 1. Relationship between newborn body weight and immunocrit ratios in 24-h-old piglets from sows fed control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets on farm A (a), farm B (b), and farm C (c). Farm A: CON; N = 120 and RYE; N = 120, Farm B: CON; N = 117 and RYE; N = 117, Farm C: N = 117 and RYE; N = 120. O symbol in this Figure is represented for one sample.
Sustainability 15 13631 g001
Table 1. Characterization of the farms in terms of size, genetic background of sow breeds, and management system for sows.
Table 1. Characterization of the farms in terms of size, genetic background of sow breeds, and management system for sows.
Farm AFarm BFarm C
Sows10002301850
Sow breedBHZP ViktoriaPIC 408PIC 408
Number of parity (Median (range))5 (1–10)5 (1–16)5 (1–9)
Production cycle (week)231
Lactation period (day)212824.5
Table 2. Ingredients and chemical composition of control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets fed to sows during the transition period.
Table 2. Ingredients and chemical composition of control (CON) and experimental (RYE) diets fed to sows during the transition period.
Ingrediens (%)Farm AFarm BFarm C
CONRYECONRYECONRYE
Wheat25.010.020.510.020.012.5
Barley30.03.1040.020.044.516.7
Rye-30.0-30.0-30.0
Wheat bran9.0016.41.601.60--
Wheat semolina bran--13.59.40--
Wheat gluten feed----9.6010.1
Cereal bran----3.408.60
Corn9.0010.0----
Sugar beet pulp, molassed--2.803.002.002.00
Soybeans, toasted-5.004.505.00--
Soybean extraction meal12.09.2010.013.014.014.7
Rapeseed extraction meal9.0010.0----
Rapeseed oil2.302.30----
Soybean oil----1.201.00
Linseed1.000.602.702.70--
Calcium carbonate1.000.901.201.201.401.40
Baking and pastry industry (wafer flour)1.00-----
Other ingredients1.702.503.204.103.903.00
Chemical composition (g/kg as fed)
Crude protein17.517.516.516.51717
Crude fat5.706.004.504.103.904.00
Crude fiber5.005.005.504.904.904.90
Crude ash6.005.705.605.705.705.80
Metabolizable energy (ME; MJ/kg as fed) *13.413.413.013.013.213.2
Calcium0.850.850.900.900.850.85
Phosphorus0.650.650.650.650.550.55
Lysine1.051.051.001.000.950.95
Methionine0.350.350.300.300.320.32
* The metabolizable energy (ME) contents of the diets were estimated based on their chemical composition in accordance with Kamphues et al. [28].
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Chuppava, B.; Homann, C.; Eckey, I.; Grone, R.; Wilke, V.; Visscher, C. Effect of Rye for Transition Sows on the Level of Piglet Serum Immunoglobulin Immunocrit. Sustainability 2023, 15, 13631. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813631

AMA Style

Chuppava B, Homann C, Eckey I, Grone R, Wilke V, Visscher C. Effect of Rye for Transition Sows on the Level of Piglet Serum Immunoglobulin Immunocrit. Sustainability. 2023; 15(18):13631. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813631

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chuppava, Bussarakam, Christian Homann, Isabell Eckey, Richard Grone, Volker Wilke, and Christian Visscher. 2023. "Effect of Rye for Transition Sows on the Level of Piglet Serum Immunoglobulin Immunocrit" Sustainability 15, no. 18: 13631. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813631

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