Feeding frequency and the addition of sugar to the diet for the lactating sow. NCR-89 Committee on Confinement Management of Swine.

Effects of feeding frequency and addition of sugar to the diet for the lactating sow were investigated using 162 sows (10 replications) at four stations in the North Central Region. Sows were assigned to one of four treatments immediately after parturition (d 0). The four treatments were a corn-soybean meal diet (control) vs a similar diet containing 2.5% feed grade sucrose (sugar) and once vs thrice daily feeding. No feeding frequency x diet interactions (P greater than .10) were observed for any of the response criteria. Feed consumption and weight loss during lactation were not affected (P greater than .10) by treatments. Also, treatments had no effect (P greater than .10) on numbers of live pigs at parturition, pig survival or litter weight at d 21. The percentage of sows in estrus within 30 d after weaning was not affected (P greater than .10) by treatment. Of those sows that expressed estrus within 30 d postpartum, the weaning-to-estrus interval of sows fed sugar was 1.3 d shorter (P less than .05) than for sows fed the control diet. Neither feeding frequency nor addition of sugar to the diet affected feed consumption or reproductive performance of the sow during lactation. Because feed consumption and weight loss of the sow were not affected by diet, no reason for the slight reduction in the weaning-to-estrus interval of sows fed sugar is evident.