Effects of Stocking Density on Rearing Environment and Growth Performance and Serum Biochemical, Immune, Antioxidant and Stress Indices of Growing Pigs in Winter

XIAO Kequan; QU Shengfu; FAN Xiaoya; GAO Fengxian

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1006-267x.2020.01.016

2020 , Vol. 32 >Issue 1: 109 - 119

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1006-267x.2020.01.016

Effects of Stocking Density on Rearing Environment and Growth Performance and Serum Biochemical, Immune, Antioxidant and Stress Indices of Growing Pigs in Winter

XIAO Kequan ,
QU Shengfu ,
FAN Xiaoya ,
GAO Fengxian

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Hunan Co-Innovation Center of Animal Production Safety, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China

Received date: 2019-07-11

Online published: 2020-01-19

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Abstract

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of stocking density on rearing environment and growth performance and serum biochemical, immune, antioxidant and stress indices of growing pigs in winter. A total of 330 healthy 21 days of age weaner Large White×Landrace (LY) growing pigs with similar body weight (P>0.05) were randomly divided into 4 groups with 6 replicates (pens) in each group. Group Ⅰ was 10 pigs per pen (0.91 m² per pig), group Ⅱ was 12 pigs per pen (0.76 m² per pig), group Ⅲ was 15 pigs per pen (0.61 m² per pig), and group Ⅳ was 18 pigs per pen (0.51 m² per pig). The experiment lasted for 28 days. The results showed as follows:1) with the stocking density increasing, the temperature and relative humidity were showed an increasing trend, and the concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ammonia (NH₃) were gradually increased. On days 14 and 21, the environmental CO₂ and NH₃ concentrations of group Ⅳ was significantly higher those of other groups (P<0.05). 2) With the stocking density increasing, the average daily feed intake (ADFI) of growing pigs was linearly decreased (P<0.05), and the average daily gain (ADG) and feed to gain ratio (F/G) were showed a quadratic curve change (P<0.05). Among them, the F/G of group Ⅲ was significantly lower than that of other groups (P<0.05). 3) With the stocking density increasing, the concentrations of triiodothyronine (T₃) and thyroxine (T₄) in serum were linearly decreased (P<0.05). 4) With the stocking density increasing, the concentrations of immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) in serum were showed a quadratic curve change (P<0.05), and the serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) concentration was linearly changed (P<0.05). Among them, the concentrations of IgA and IgG in serum of group Ⅰ were significantly lower than those of group Ⅱ (P<0.05). With the stocking density increasing, the serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentration was showed a quadratic curve change (P<0.05). Among them, the serum TNF-α concentration of groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ was significantly lower than that of group Ⅳ (P<0.05). 5) Compared with group Ⅲ, the activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of group Ⅰ were significantly decreased (P<0.05). With the stocking density increasing, the serum malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration was showed a quadratic curve change (P<0.05), and the serum MDA concentration of group Ⅲ was significantly lower than that of other groups (P<0.05). 6) With the stocking density increasing, the concentrations of adrenocortical hormone (ACTH) and cortisol (COR) in serum firstly decreased and then increased. Among them, there were no significant differences on concentrations of ACTH and COR in serum between groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ (P>0.05). In conclusion, under this experiment condition, there are no significant differences on most part of growth performance and serum biochemical, immune, antioxidant and stress indices between groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ, and considering the utilization of the bar, the stocking density of group Ⅲ (0.61 m² per pig) is more suitable for the growth of growing pigs (25 to 45 kg) in winter, which has the high growth rate and feed conversion rate and the low body immunological stress.

Key words： stocking density; growing pigs; rearing environment; growth performance; stress

Cite this article

XIAO Kequan , QU Shengfu , FAN Xiaoya , GAO Fengxian . Effects of Stocking Density on Rearing Environment and Growth Performance and Serum Biochemical, Immune, Antioxidant and Stress Indices of Growing Pigs in Winter[J]. Chinese Journal of Animal Nutrition, 2020 , 32(1) : 109 -119 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1006-267x.2020.01.016

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