Choline Requirement of Pregnant Sows and Gilts Under Restricted Feeding Conditions

Abstract

Seventy-three purebred Yorkshire gilts were used to determine the level of supplemental choline required, if any, to maintain normal reproduction for three successive cycles when the sows were fed a 15% protein corn-soybean meal diet at the rate of 1.82 kg/sow/day during gestation. The levels of supplemental choline were: none, 412 and 824 mg/kg of ration. Sows fed the diet without supplemental choline had a significantly (P< .05) lower conception rate expressed as a percentage of total sows (57 vs. 73%), a significantly (P< .05) lower farrowing rate expressed as a percentage of bred sows (62 vs. 78%), farrowed significantly (P< .10) fewer total pigs per litter (9.3 vs. 10.1) and farrowed significantly (P< .10) fewer live pigs per litter (8.0 vs. 9.1) compared to sows given diets containing supplemental choline. There was no difference in the average birth weight of the pigs due to level of dietary choline. Sows that received supplemental choline weaned significantly (P< .10) more pigs per litter (7.3 vs. 6.6) as compared to sows that received the unsupplemented diet, but there were no differences in the number of pigs weaned when expressed as a percentage of live pigs farrowed or in the 3-week weaning weight of the pigs due to level of dietary choline. No differences in the number of sows farrowing pigs with “spraddle legs” due to level of choline were observed, but sows fed the diet without supplemental choline farrowed a slightly higher percentage of pigs with “spraddle legs” (5.7 vs. 2.1%) as compared to sows fed the diets containing supplemental choline. There were no differences found between the two supplemental levels of choline indicating that the lower level of 412 mg of supplemental choline per kilogram of ration (total of 1236 mg/kg) was adequate to maximize the performance of sows and gilts.