Are We Still Having Vitamin E and Selenium Deficiencies in Pigs?

Although most commercial feed companies are currently fortifying their swine diets with the maximum allowable limit of inorganic Se (.3 ppm) and relatively high dietary vitamin E levels, the vitamin E-Se deficiency is still occurring on many swine farms. The periods where the deficiency is more likely to occur is in the neonate, at weaning, and during the reproductive period. It has been demonstrated colostrum and milk vitamin E and Se concentrations decline with advancing age and therefore older high producing sows are more likely to produce progeny with a low vitamin E and Se status at birth and weaning than younger sows; and postweaning pigs will encounter the deficiency more quickly if their vitamin E and Se status is compromised prior to weaning. High dietary vitamin E levels and the use of organic Se during the 3 critical periods when the deficiency onset is most frequently encountered appears effective.