Search

Profits is very important in most industries and determined by the cost and amount of products generated. In the livestock industries, higher number of viable animals produced will improve the economies of scale, hence, their profit. In general, twinning can be a good approach to increase reproductive capacity, and consequently the production volume. Cattle are monovular animal, typically give birth to one offspring and multiple birth is rare. Multiple gestation is mostly unfavorable in the dairy industry due to their negative impact on reproductive and production performance on cow and calf. Twinning is highly correlated to ovulation rate and various genes that are affecting hyperprolificacy in sheep have been identified. Many studies have reported quantitative trait loci (QTL) that are associated with high ovulation rate and twinning in cattle. Besides the genetic factor, twinning can also be induced via hormonal methods. Knowledge on the factors that causing hyperprolificacy can assist the breeders or farmers for their selection, based on their objectives and strategy.

The study assessed the effects of dietary L‐arginine supplementation from days 85 to 115 of gestation on sow performance, litter quality, piglet physiology and survival variables in the first 24 hr of life. Twenty multiparous sows, with a history of hyperprolificacy (more than 14 piglets per litter), were used. A completely randomized experimental design was used, consisting of two treatments: feed supplemented or not with 1% L‐arginine from days 85 to 115 of gestation. The experimental unit consisted of the sow and its respective litter, using 10 replicates per treatment. The sows were distributed into the treatments based on body condition and parity. Supplementation with L‐arginine reduced the within‐litter standard deviation and the within‐litter coefficient of variation of piglet weight at 24 hr by 54 g and 4.14 percentage points respectively (p =.029; p =.035). Supplementation with 1.0% L‐arginine decreased the percentages of piglets weighing less than 800 g by 5.60 and 5.08 points at birth and at 24 hr of life respectively. Piglets from sows supplemented with L‐arginine had higher (p =.088) average rectal temperatures at birth and lower (p =.030) rectal temperature at 24 hr of life in comparison with control piglets. No significant differences in placental weight or estimated colostrum production and intake were observed in the first 24 hr of life. At 24 hr of life, piglets weighing less than 1,000 g and from supplemented sows had lower (p =.048) surface/mass ratios and higher body mass index (p =.070). Piglets from supplemented sows and who weighed 1601 to 1,800 g had lower body mass index and ponderal index (p =.002; p =.003). Supplementation with L‐arginine during the final third of gestation reduces the incidence of unviable piglets (<800 g) and improved litter uniformity and piglets' body conformation within the first 24 hr of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]