Vitamins for Swine Health, Welfare, and Productivity
Last year, we released a new book called Optimum Vitamin Nutrition for More Sustainable Swine Farming. This book contains the most updated research-based information on vitamins for swine. The five chapters describe the multiple effects that vitamins can have in diverse aspects of pig farming. Chapter 5 summarizes vitamin recommendations from multiple scientific sources, academic groups, genetic companies, and results of recent surveys indicating current use in the Brazilian, Chinese, and USA swine industries.
Most recommendations for vitamins in swine nutrition are still based on studies conducted several decades ago. Consequently, there is a concern about whether current levels are adequate for modern pig genetics. However, this topic raises some controversy because, in some cases, the information available is unclear, and commercial interests may sometimes make the need to update recommendations less credible. Nevertheless, several reasons suggest the need to review recommendations for vitamins and other nutrients for swine periodically. The tendencies of vitamin use in the swine industry indicated that these levels are, in fact, adjusted across time.
Most vitamin recommendations for swine derived from different experiments are expressed in concentration per kilogram of feed. In pigs, changes caused by genetic improvement geared to reducing the feed conversion ratio which have had the marked indirect effect of reducing voluntary ingestion over the last few decades (Culbertson et al., 2017; Soleimani and Gilbert, 2020). These changes do not affect pigs with the same intensity during all productive phases, nor is the effect on both sexes the same. Weaning and the post-farrowing period or early lactation are critical in pigs.
There has been a marked increase in the productive capacity of the animals, ever approaching the physiological limit. As productivity increases, more attention should be paid to the supply of the different nutrients to avoid imbalances. However, genetics continue to evolve (Culbertson et al., 2017; Lozada-Soto et al., 2022). We are on the threshold of a revolution thanks to the massive application of techniques based on molecular biology. It will, therefore, be necessary to take the conditions for the optimization of feed formulation to the limit to maintain that rate of improvement in production.
With more scientific knowledge related to physiological and metabolic processes tha...
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