To bump or not to bump?

摘要

BUMP FEEDING, OR increasing the sow feeding level in late gestation, is inconsistently used across the industry.Bump feeding has been shown to enhance piglet birth weight in gilts but not sows. Yet, the ideal bump feeding level and optimal length of bump feeding are not well-defined for gilts, so a study was conducted at a commercial farm in eastern North Carolina.Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of increasing gilt feeding level in late gestation, for different durations, on piglet quality.