Use of Commercial Emulsifiers for Lactating Sows

The lactation phase is metabolically demanding, and sows struggle to ingest sufficient feed to meet their needs. A total of 116 Camborough® sows were randomly assigned to three treatments with 39 replicates each, using a randomized complete block design, with parity order as blocks. The treatments were as follows: (T1) Positive control (CON) - basal diet; (T2) basal diet with the addition of degummed soybean oil and emulsifier - 350g/t; (T3) basal diet with the addition of emulsifier - 350g/t. Colostrum samples from each animal were collected up to 12 hours postpartum for analysis of the estimated amount of IgG present, using a portable digital refractometer Brix (Milwaukee MA87) with 85% accuracy. In the present study, the supplementation with emulsifier showed a tendency for a higher number of piglets weaned per sow fed the emulsifier in the diet.