Effect of protein malnutrition of the sow on reproductive performance and on postnatal learning and performance of the offspring.

Two experiments were conducted to estimate the effect of protein malnutrition (2 vs 17% protein diet during gestation and 5 vs 17% during lactation) on sow and progeny performance and learning ability of the offspring. Gestation gain and birth weights were significantly decreased (P<.05), but litter size at birth was not significantly affected by feeding the low level of protein to the sow. Weight loss during lactation was significantly greater for dams fed the low-protein diet. Progeny survival to 45 days of age was significantly reduced by protein restriction during gestation and lactation. During the 4to 7-week growth period, pigs from dams fed the low-protein diet gained significantly slower, but when a covariance adjustment was made, pigs from dams fed low protein diets gained faster relative to their weights at the start of the test period. No significant differences were observed in feed required per unit of gain. During the 7-week to 91-kg body weight period, pigs from dams fed the high-protein diet gained significantly faster and utilized their feed more efficiently (P<.05) than pigs from dams fed the low-protein diet. No significant differences were noted in avoidance learning ability of the offspring in either experiment. Maze learning scores were not affected by nutrition of the dam in experiment 1 but the feeding of a low-protein diet to sows significantly decreased the maze learning ability in the second experiment. No significant correlations were observed between average daily gain or feed/gain and learning