Volume: 56 Issue: 2
Year: 2025, Page: 298-303, Doi: https://doi.org/10.51966/jvas.2025.56.2.298-303
Received: Dec. 31, 2024 Accepted: Feb. 14, 2025 Published: June 30, 2025
A nutritional study was conducted using 24 multiparous Large White Yorkshire (LWY) sows maintained at the Centre for Pig Production and Research (CPPR), Mannuthy from 75th day of gestation till weaning (42nd day of farrowing) to evaluate the effect of supplementing feed additives during maternity on litter performance and survivability of piglets. Experimental animals were grouped into four dietary treatments of six animals each, following the completely randomised design. Control diet (C) was formulated as per NRC, 2012 (3300 kcal ME/kg feed and 18 per cent crude protein). The other three dietary treatments were prepared by fortification of C with additives viz., L-Carnitine at 50 mg/kg diet (C+c), xylanase at 0.01 per cent level (C+x) and a combination of both L-Carnitine at 50 mg/kg diet and xylanase at 0.01 per cent level (C+c+x). All sows received experimental diets from the 75th day of gestation to four weeks after farrowing. The experimental animals were maintained on farm rations until weaning, thereafter. Litter size and litter weight were recorded at birth and weekly intervals until weaning. All observed indices on litter performance did not differ among the four treatment groups. Average piglet weight and survivability did not differ among the four dietary treatment groups during the first recording during the experiment, as well as during the last recording at the weaning stage. From the overall results of the experiment, it could be inferred that supplementation of maternal diets with L- L-Carnitine at 50 mg/ kg diet or xylanase at 0.01 per cent level or the combination of both could not improve the overall litter performance and survivability of LWY piglets.
Keywords: Xylanase, L-Carnitine, multiparous sows, survivability, litter performance, LWY
Ambily, K.G., Naik, M., Harshan, H.M., Jayakumar, C., Unnikrishnan, M.P. and Usha A.P. 2021. Assessment of quality in specific fractions of Large White Yorkshire boar semen. J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 52: 155-160.
DAHD, [Dept of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries] 2019. 20th Livestock census, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi.
Decaluwe, R., Maes, D., Declerck, I., Cools, A., Wuyts, B., De Smet, S. and Janssens, G.P.J. 2013. Changes in back fat thickness during late gestation predict colostrum yield in sows. Animal 7: 1999-2007.
Devillers, N., Le Dividich, J. and Prunier, A. 2011. Influence of colostrum intake on piglet survival and immunity. Animal 5: 1605-1612.
Eder, K., Ramanau, A. and Kluge, H. 2001. Effect of L carnitine supplementation on performance parameters in gilts and sows. J. Anim. Physiol .Anim. Nutr. 85: 73-80.
Foisnet, A., Farmer, C., David, C. and Quesnel, H. 2010. Relationship between colostrum production by primiparous sows and physiology around parturition. J. Anim. Sci. 88: 1672-1683.
Gokuldas, P.P., Tamuli, M.K., Mohan, N.H., Barman, K. and Sahoo, N.R. 2015. A comparative analysis of reproductive performance of different pig breeds under intensive management systems in sub-tropical climate Indian J. Anim. Sci. 85 (9): 1042-1045.
Keyho, K., George, S., Anil, K.S., Sasidharan, M., Dipu M.T. and Sunanda C. 2018. Effect of lactation length on reproductive performance of large white yorkshire sows. J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 49: 71-75.
Liu, Z.H., Zhang, X.M., Zhou, Y.F., Wang, C., Xiong, J., Guo, L.L., Wang, L., Jiang, S.W. and Peng, J. 2020. Effect of increasing feed intake during late gestation on piglet performance at parturition in commercial production enterprises. Anim. Reprod. Sci. 218: 106477.
Lokhande, S. 2020. Impact of higher levels of dietary energy supplementation in the performance of sow and litter. M.V.Sc thesis, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode, 69 p.
Long, H.F., Ju, W.S., Piao, L.G. and Kim, Y.Y. 2010. Effect of dietary energy levels of gestating sows on physiological parameters and reproductive performance. Asian-Aust.J. Anim. Sci. 23(8): 1080-1088.
NRC [National Research Council]. 2012. Nutrient Requirements of Swine. (11th Ed.). National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 420p.
Owen, K.Q., Ji, H., Maxwell, C.V., Nelssen, J. L., Goodband, R. D., Tokach, M. D., Tremblay, G. C. and Koo, S. 2001. Dietary L-carnitine suppresses mitochondrial branch-chained keto acid dehydrogenase activity and enhances protein accretion and carcass characteristics of swine. J. Anim. Sci. 79: 3104-3112.
Ramanau, A., Kluge, H., Spilke, J. and Eder, K. 2002. Reproductive performance of sows supplemented with dietary L-carnitine over three reproductive cycles. Arch. Anim. Nutr. 56: 287-296.
Ramanau, A., Kluge, H., Spilke, J. and Eder, K. 2004. Supplementation of sows with L-carnitine during pregnancy and lactation improves growth of the piglets during the suckling period through increased milk production. J. Nutri. 134(1): 86-92.
Roehe, R. and Kalm, E. 2000. Estimation of genetic and environmental risk factors associated with pre-weaning mortality in piglets using generalized linear mixed models. Anim. Sci. 70: 227-240.
Rooney, H.B., O’Driscoll, K., Silacci, P., Bee, G., O'Doherty, J.V. and Lawlor, P.G. 2020. Effect of dietary L-carnitine supplementation to sows during gestation and/or lactation on sow productivity, muscle maturation and lifetime growth in progeny from large litters. Brit. J. Nutri. 124: 43-56.
Snedecor, G.W. and Cochran, W.G. 1994. Statistical Methods. (8th Ed.) The Iowa State University Press, Ames, 503p.
Thiruveni, S. 2003. Influence of renedered fat in the diet of large white Yorkshire sows on litter performance. M.V.Sc thesis, Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuthy, 114 p.
Tripura, S. 2018. Dietary incorporation of cooked barley and spent grapes as energy source in Large White Yorkshire sows. M.V.Sc thesis. Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode, 76 p.
Valli, C., Balakrishnan, V., Vijayakumar, M.P. and Komallavalli, D. 2011. Recent trends in nutrition and feeding management of swine. In: Kumarasamy, P., Murugan, M. and Veeramani, P.(ed.) Invited papers of the National Seminar on Status and Scope of Pig Farming in India; 17th to 18th November, 2011, Kattupakkam, Tamilnadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Centre for Animal Production Studies, Post Graduate Research Institute in Animal Sciences. pp. 65-69.
van den Brand, H. 2000. Energy partitioning and reproduction in primiparous cows: Effects of dietary energy source. Ph.D Thesis, Wageningen University, Netherlands, 139p.
Walker, W.R., Maxwell, C.V., Hintz, R.L. and Brock, K. 1981. The effect of increased feed intake during late gestataion on the reproductive performance of sows. Animal Science Research Report, Oklahoma Agricultural Experimental Station. 231-235.
Xin, H., Bing, Y., Jun, H., Zhiqing, H., Xiangbing, M., Ping, Z., Yuheng, L., Junqiu, L., Quyuan, W., Huifen, W., Jie, Y. and Daiwen, C. 2020. Effects of xylanase on growth performance, nutrients digestibility and intestinal health in weaned piglets. Livstck. Sci. 233: 1871-1413.
Zang, J., Chen, J., Tian, J., Wang, A., Liu, H., Hu, S., Che, X., Ma, Y., Wang, J., Wang, C., Du, G. and Ma, X. 2014. Effects of magnesium on the performance of sows and their piglets. J. Anim. Sci. Biotech. (http://www.jasbsci.com/content/5/1/39) 5(39): 1-8.
Zhou, P., Nuntapaitoon, M., Pedersen, T.F., Bruun, T.S., Fisker, B. and Theil, P.K. 2018. Effects of mono-component xylanase supplementation on nutrient digestibility and performance of lactating sows fed a coarsely ground diet. J. Anim. Sci. 96(1): 181-193.
© 2025 Mathew et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Mathew, J.J., Dipu, M.T., Ally, K., Thirupathy, V., Lalu, K. and Justin, D. 2025. Effect of supplementing multiparous
sows with xylanase, L-Carnitine and their combination during maternity on litter performance and survivability of piglets.
J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 56 (2):298-303