Large litters have a detrimental impact on litter performance and postpartum maternal behaviour in primiparous sows

Abstract

Abstract Background Our previous study confirmed that large litter size adversely affects prepartum maternal hormones and behaviour, concurrently with heightened oxidative stress in primiparous sows. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of large litter size on litter performance, postpartum maternal behaviour, salivary cortisol levels, and colostral immunoglobulin levels in sows, as well as investigate their correlations with the levels of oxidative stress parameters. Results A total of 24 primiparous sows (Landrace$$ \times $$Large white) and their offspring were categorised into two groups based on litter size: NORMAL (n = 8) with litter size ranging from 7 to 14 (mean 11.5$$ \pm $$2.7), and LARGE (n=16) with litter size ranging from 15 to 20 (mean 15.9$$ \pm $$1.4). All sows were housed in a group housing system during gestation and transitioned to an adaptable loose housing system (2.4$$ \times $$2.3 m) during the farrowing and lactation periods. The nursing and carefulness behaviour of the sows was monitored over a 24-h period between 72 and 96 h after parturition. Saliva samples were collected for cortisol assay on 35, 21, and 7 days before parturition (D-35, D-21, and D-7, respectively), as well as on days 1, 7, and 28 after parturition (D1, D7, and D28, respectively). On D1, higher piglet mortality rates were observed among the LARGE group compared to the NORMAL group (p<0.01). The total and successful nursing behaviours of the sows were less frequent in the LARGE group than in the NORMAL group (p<0.05, for both), and the carefulness score of the LARGE group was also lower than that of the NORMAL group (p< 0.01). On D1, cortisol levels in LARGE sows were higher than those in NORMAL sows (p< 0.05), and for other time points (D-21, D-7, D7, and D28), cortisol levels in LARGE sows tended to be higher than those in NORMAL sows (p < 0.10, for all). Successful nursing behaviour displayed negative correlations with levels of salivary cortisol and certain oxidative stress parameters measured on D1. Conclusions These findings suggest that the strategy for alleviating physiological and oxidative stress during the peripartum periods could benefit potential postpartum maternal behaviour and litter performance in the sows with large litters.