Vitamins via the sow

摘要

Danish research has been examining whether the vitamin E status of piglets after weaning can be improved by adding extra vitamins to the sow's feed for an enriched supply through her milk. Renewed interest is being shown in the idea of enriching thesow's milk by making adjustments to her feed in late gestation and lactation. Most previous investigations looked only at the immediate consequences for the suckling pig. This time, however, the litters reared by specially-fed sows have been followed upto and beyond weaning. The research scientists in Denmark wanted to see whether enriched milk could help to solve a particular dilemma -- the shortage of a uniquely valuable vitamin that affects piglets after they are weaned. This shortage is difficult to correct by direct feeding of the weaner pig, the researchers explain. So it was tempting to speculate that better-quality milk might offer a remedy in the form of a preweaning 'lunch box' which piglets took with them into the nursery.