The influence of sow dietary lipids and choline on piglet survival, milk and carcass composition.

Twenty-one crossbred gilts and 75 crossbred sows were randomly assigned to six treatments for examination of the effect of lipid feeding and choline level on baby pig survival. Dietary variables were supplemental fat and choline in a 3 X 2 factorial arrangement. Fat treatments were no supplemental fat, 10% corn oil and 10% animal fat; choline treatments were 0 and 500 ppm supplemental choline from choline chloride. Baby pig survival and litter weight at 21 days were improved (P less than .05) by supplemental fat. Lipid treatments also improved (P less than .05) percentage survival among piglets in the weight ranges of 909 g or less, 1,136 to 1,362 g and 1,363 to 1,589 grams. Lipid feeding increased survival by 18.5% among the piglets weighing less than 909 grams. Piglets fasted for 60 hr had 47.7% less (P less than .05) total lipids and 90.5% less (P less than .05) glycogen than 12-hr-old, nonfasted piglets. The feeding of corn oil significantly affected percentages of carcass fatty acids. Percentages of palmitic, palmitoleic, oleic and linoleic acids decreased during fasting, indicating good utilization, while percentages of stearic and arachidonic acids increased, indicating poorer utilization during fasting. Milk from control sows, which had received a gestation diet containing 4% added poultry fat prior to treatment, was only slightly lower in energy and lipid content (nonsignificant) than milk from sows on the lipid treatment. Corn oil affected (P less than .05) the percentage of fatty acids in milk. Additional choline appeared to have no beneficial effect in any phase of the experiment. Choline did not increase lipid mobilization or piglet survival.