Research data suggests that increasing weaning age increases the economic value of weaned pigs.1 However, little information exists on the impact of extended lactation length (> 21 days) on the immune status of pigs. Because of its importance to the swine industry and because it is a proven model of maternal immune transfer in swine,2 Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae) was chosen as the model antigen to investigate the influence of lactation length on vaccine timing. The objective of this study was to determine the optimal time to vaccinate pre-weaning pigs in the face of an extended lactation period of 25 days.
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