195 Depriving piglets of maternal feces changes piglet physiology and performance before and after weaning

Coprophagy has been described in piglets, but its effects on piglet physiology, behavior, and performance have not been fully assessed. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate how deprivation of maternal feces influenced these measures before and after weaning. Eight litters were randomly assigned to one of two treatments following a CRD design: Control and treatment (TRT). Piglets in the control group had access to maternal feces while piglets in TRT litters were deprived of maternal feces for the first 7 d of age. Measures of piglet behavior were observed for 24 h on d 7 of age. Blood samples were collected from two piglets from each litter (i.e. male and female) at 0, 7, and 21 d of age for hematological analyses. Litters were weaned at 25 ±2 d of age and post-weaning growth performance was assessed until 100 d post weaning. During the first 3 d post-partum, sow fecal output was low or absent. After 3 d post-partum, sows defecated 220.7 ± 43.86 g/d (DM basis). No treatment effects were observed on measures of behavior, hematocrit or hemoglobin at 0, 7, and 21 d of age (P > 0.05). Relative to the control group, TRT piglets had 25% lower WBC numbers (PP ≤ 0.05). At 100-d post-weaning, control pigs were 8.33 ± 1.9 kg heavier than TRT pigs (P < 0.05). Collectively, these results show that when piglets had access to maternal feces during the first 7 d of age, while not changing nursing or other behaviors, they had better pre- and post-weaning performance than piglets deprived of maternal feces. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms (nutritional, microbial, or pheromonal) through which maternal feces changes physiology and improves the growth of piglets.