Abstract #T294

# T294
Effects of the level of bovine plasma in pregnant gilts on the birth weight of the litter.
Bárbara V. Freitas*1, Simone M. M. K. Martins1, Jose A. R. Ulloa1, Gustavo A. Campos1, Lúcio F. Araújo1, 1University of São Paulo, Pirassununga, São Paulo, Brazil.

Plasma is considered an important ingredient in animal feed for high quality, functional protein. In piglets, it has been associated with causing a reduction in inflammation and immune stimulation. The use of the ingredient is growing in sows during the pregnancy to improve weight and homogeneity at birth and the body condition of the sow at the end of lactation, reducing the number of “days open” before conception. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of different plasma levels in the diet of gilts on the birth weight of piglets. Twenty-four pregnant, primiparous females (Topigs Norsvin) aged 215 ± 9.46 d and weighing 127 ± 8.0 kg were used. The compositions of the diets were based on corn and soybean meal, in accordance with NRC recommendations (2012). The experimental design was completely randomized, with 4 treatments: 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0% of plasma added to the feed. Six repetitions per treatment were used and the experimental unit was one primiparous pregnant sow. During the gestational period, from 1 to 3 d after insemination, the gilts consumed a mean 1.200 kg of feed per day, from 4 to 79 d, a mean of 1.800 kg per day and from 80 to 110 d, a mean of 2.800 kg of feed per day. Blood plasma was added to the diet formulation according to treatment. After birth, all the live piglets, placentas, stillbirths, and mummies were weighed. The mean weight of the complete litter, including mummies and stillbirths, was 16.85 kg, 17.36 kg, 17.63 kg and 18.52 kg for the treatments 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0% of added plasma, respectively. The characteristics of total litter weight, live births weight, fetal membrane weight and number of live-born, stillborn and mummified piglets were not affected by the inclusion of plasma in the diet of sows. The characteristics of the total litter weight, live births weight, fetal membrane weight and number of live-born piglets were analyzed using PROC REG (SAS, 2012), while stillborn and mummified piglets were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX, Poisson distribution (SAS, 2012). Level of significance P < 0.05.

Key Words: primiparous pregnancy, gestation, blood plasma