Key Technical Points for Feeding and Management of Pregnant Sows

From day 15 to 40 of pregnancy in sows, the fertilized eggs implant in the maternal endometrium and gradually form the fetal membranes and placenta. At this time, do not let them exercise vigorously or feed them poor-quality moldy feed, otherwise it will cause miscarriage. Feed them nutritionally complete feed, and add green feed and vitamin feed, etc., because incomplete feed nutrition can likewise lead to the death of embryos and fetuses.

At around 20 days of pregnancy, especially careful care and strengthened nutrition are needed; from 20 to 80 days of pregnancy, more roughage can be fed. During this stage, sows need a large amount of nutrition and their appetite increases, so they can consume roughage and green feed fairly well.

In late pregnancy, more concentrated feed should be added to meet the needs of fetal growth and development. When preparing the feed, add 15%-30% cake-type or bean-type ingredients to ensure the protein requirement, and appropriately supplement bone meal (30-40 grams per day) to ensure the calcium and phosphorus requirements. Salt should also be added to the feed at 0.5%-1% to increase appetite and promote metabolism.

To avoid breast swelling after farrowing, from 4 days before farrowing to 6 days after farrowing, concentrated feed should be appropriately reduced and more roughage and green feed should be fed. Yang Chunlin