Impacto do tipo de desmame sobre os leitões: revisão de literatura

Abstract

Brazil is currently the fourth largest producer of pork, second only to the China, the European Union (considering total production), and United States. Among the alternatives adopted that directly influence the profitability of the swine chain is the practice of early weaning, responsible for increasing the number of piglets produced from one breeding per year and reducing the number of non-productive days of breeding. However, early weaning presents limiting points in relation to the optimum productivity results, especially in the younger pig phases, because this period is characterized by the poor performance of piglets. The change of environment, separation of sow and piglets, and the sudden change of diet are factors that lead to behavioral and physiological changes in the structure and function of the intestine, leading to a drop in immunity, causing a reduction in their animal breeding performance in the first days after weaning. Therefore, this review aimed to address the effect of early weaning on performance, growth, immunity, behavior, and morphophysiology of piglets in this phase.