Effects of providing sensory attractants to suckling pigs during lactation and after weaning on post-weaning growth performance

• Published in: Translational animal science Vol. 7; no. 1; p. txac170
• Main Authors: Wensley, Madie R, Tokach, Mike D, Woodworth, Jason C, Goodband, Robert D, DeRouchey, Joel M, Gebhardt, Jordan T, McKilligan, Denny, Upah, Nathan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Housing and Management; enrichment; growth performance; weaning; sensory attractant; body weight loss; nursery pig
• ISSN: 2573-2102; 2573-2102
• DOI: 10.1093/tas/txac170

Abstract
Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of sensory attractants pre- and post-weaning on the growth performance of pigs after weaning. For each experiment, treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of pre-weaning application (without or with), post-weaning application (without or with), and body weight category (representing the lightest or heaviest 50% of the population). In Exp. 1, 356 nursery pigs (initially 5.7 kg) were used in a 28-d trial with enrichment cubes used as the sensory attractant. A greater percentage of heavy pigs (P = 0.007) or pigs offered enrichment cubes pre-weaning (P = 0.044) lost BW from weaning to d 3 compared to light pigs or pigs not offered enrichment cubes pre-weaning. From weaning to d 7, a greater percentage of pigs lost weight when not offered cubes post-weaning (P = 0.002) compared to pigs offered cubes post-weaning. In Exp. 2, 355 nursery pigs (initially 5.6 kg) were used in a 29-d trial with a powder used as the sensory attractant. Providing a powder attractant both pre- and post-weaning reduced the percentage of pigs that lost weight from weaning to d 3 as compared with providing a powder either pre- or post-weaning only (interaction, P < 0.05). In Exp. 3, 355 nursery pigs (initially 5.9 kg) were used in a 24-d trial with a liquid spray used as the sensory attractant. A greater percentage of heavy pigs that did not receive liquid attractant lost weight from weaning to d 3, whereas a greater percentage of light pigs lost weight when they received liquid attractant only pre-weaning (three-way interaction; P = 0.016). Across all three experiments, sensory attractant application had limited effects on the growth performance of pigs after weaning; however, varying responses were observed for the percentage of pigs that lost weight in the first 3 to 7 d immediately post-weaning. In summary, environmental enrichment with cubes (Exp. 1) appears to have the greatest effect when applied post-weaning whereas flavor attractants (Exp. 2 and 3) appear to have the greatest effect when applied both pre- and post-weaning.
Sensory attractants may encourage early development of feeding behavior, therefore decreasing the percentage of pigs that lose weight after weaning, as measured by the percentage of pigs that were still below weaning weight 3 or 7 d post-weaning.
Lay Summary
At the time of weaning pigs generally have limited experience with solid feed, often resulting in low feed intake and body weight gain immediately post-weaning. Hence, sensory learning strategies may be an opportunity to develop early feeding behavior by encouraging pigs to use their senses to explore the environment around them. Providing sensory learning in the form of flavor, odor, or environmental stimuli both before and after weaning is thought to improve feed intake post-weaning by training pigs to respond to familiar sensory stimuli. To assess this hypothesis, a series of experiments were conducted to determine the effect of sensory attractants pre- and post-weaning on the growth performance of pigs after weaning. The attractants used in these experiments included enrichment cubes, a powder attractant, and a liquid spray attractant. Overall, sensory attractants had limited effects on the growth performance of pigs after weaning; however, varying responses were observed for the percentage of pigs that lost weight 3 or 7 d post-weaning. Environmental enrichment with cubes appears to minimize pig body weight loss when applied post-weaning, whereas flavor attractants appear to minimize body weight loss when applied both pre- and post-weaning.