Sow Lactation: Colostrum and Milk Yield: a Review

This article is a review of the factors that influence the sow’s colostrums and milk yield. Colostrum is secreted from the udder immediately after farrowing and is a rich source of highly digestible nutrients, which are critical to the survival of the newly born piglet. Colostrum contains natural growth factors for the normal development of vital life-sustaining organs. The litter performance before weaning is mainly influenced by the sow’s colostrum, milk yield and intake. The major roles of colostrum are, to provide the piglet with energy, passive immunity before their immune system is developed and in the development of the gastrointestinal tract of the piglet. Litter size, birth weight, number of parity, genotype, endocrine status, stress before, during and after farrowing and nutrition seem to influence colostrum and milk yield. The piglet in the first two weeks after farrowing is mainly dependent on the sow’s milk for nutrition because it is taking little or no creep feed. 20-30% of early piglet mortality is due to lack of adequate nutrition that could be due to inadequate milk production by the sow. Therefore, an early and high intake of colostrum is a major determinant of piglet survival during the early suckling period.