Monitoring the risks of some physiologic factors of lactation in PIC sows on the health of suckling piglets.

The influence of the major physiological factors (age, weight at first farrow and some genotypic, phenotypic and environmental characteristics) on prolificacy and sow lactation capacity as well as the growth and health indices in piglets was monitored on a PIC industrial multiplication farm with a breeding effective of 200 sows and a total of 255 farrows, in 2011. Evaluations were based primarily on quantification of biometric parameters of the farrows. Am overview of the data regarding the influence of age (farrow rank) on milk production in sows revealed a maximum production level in the 2nd or 3rd lactation in correlation with increased prolificacy (11.9 or 11.7) and lactation capacity (65 and 64) respectively with reduction of mortality in piglets (3.6% and 3.7%). The evolution of these indices revealed that sows can be effectively exploited in the first 5 lactations, after which advancing age significantly limits milk production. Achieving the first fertile optimal age of first farrowing (233-238 or 348-353 days) also contribute to ensuring milk production. The lactation curve was characterized by an upward phase in the first 7-10 days, a plateau of about 10 days and a downward phase, consisting of slow decrease milk production followed by its marked reduction around weaning. In last year the total recorded farm losses (10.2%) were represented largely by mortality in suckling piglets