Ensuring optimal liver health in sows is crucial for both their well-being, their piglet’s well-being, as well as the productivity of the herd. There is an ever- rising demand on sows to produce larger litters and produce enough milk to achieve desired higher weaning weights over a certain period. Additionally, the sow must be able to reconceive after her lactation period. These are taxing events her body is put through and a well functional liver can support her through the pressure her body experiences.
The liver plays a vital role in metabolism, nutrient storage, and detoxification of the bloodstream. However, the load on the liver changes with different production periods in the sow’s lifetime. It increases dramatically during the lactation period due to an increasing need for nutrients that enables her to produce milk for her piglets. This can leave an increasing gap between the regeneration and degeneration of the liver, making the sow more susceptible to productive stress. Additional to this stress, contaminants in the feed can also present its own challenges for the sow. Recent data has shown that 80% of all tested feed samples were found to contain at least one mycotoxin. If present in the feed, mycotoxins enter the animal’s bodies and can lead to damage if not detoxified by the liver.
WHY IS LIVER HEALTH IMPORTANT IN LACTATING SOWS?
The liver aids in digestion of nutrients and in the metabolism of fats and proteins which are the two main components of milk. The liver is under a lot of stress and plays a crucial role in the increased demand for energy during farrowing and lactation. This greater need for energy causes an increase in fat and protein mobilisation from the body, which can ultimately result in metabolic disorders such as fatty liver if not stabilized and can lead to continued poor nutrient utilisation. This ripple effect can often be seen in weak piglets at birth, lower birth weights at farrowing, more splayed legs in piglets and a lack of milk production from the sows.
Therefore, the aim should be to keep the liver as healthy as possible and avoid any additional stresses from toxins to ensure quality productive performance. The liver can perform better digestion, more efficient metabolism, and a greater ability to eliminate toxins from the body which in turn leads to improved feed conversion ratios (FCR) and decreased disease risk.
HOW CAN WE KEEP THE LIVER HEALTHY?
Firstly, the correct diet needs to be fed to the sows to ensure all the nutrients required by the pig is of adequate quality and in the correct quantity to avoid metabolic disturbances that will lead to added stress on the liver. The correct diet is also important for the gut health of the pig to ensure that dysbiosis does not occur in the intestines. This could potentially lead to overgrowth of the pathogens in the gut whose toxins can then reach and cause degeneration of the liver.
Other contaminants present in feed also need to be considered, i.e. heavy metals and mycotoxins that can also damage the liver. Therefore, it is important to reduce the risk of exposure of pigs to these contaminants. One solution is the addition of mycotoxin binder to the feed to help prevent these toxins from reaching the liver and causing damage. The impact of mycotoxins is often subclinical and may not be noticed until clinical signs are seen. This affects the sow’s liver health without the farmer even realising that there are toxins present in the feed.
The next consideration is to help regenerate the liver cells after damage has occurred. The liver is an organ that can repair or regenerate its cells, and this regeneration can be encouraged with certain nutrients or products present in the feed. These supplements can boost the liver by stimulating the regeneration of hepatocytes and improving the physiological activity of the liver. There has been increased interest in phytogenics and how plants and their bioactive ingredients can aid in stimulating the regeneration of liver cells and helping to restore its function. The addition of these prohepatonutrients into the diets of lactating sows optimises the liver function, leading to the efficient absorption of nutrients, improved enzyme secretion and bile production by the liver and better immunity of the sows. The result of this inclusion in the feed can be observed in the birth of stronger piglets that have a better survivability and higher weaning weights.
CONCLUSION
The sow’s liver can experience many challenges on farm due to the increased production stress seen in today’s modern farming systems and possible feed contamination. Therefore, the farmer’s aim should be to help optimise the liver function to the best of their ability. So, let us feed our sows quality feeds with mycotoxin binders and regenerate that liver using prohepatonutrients to ensure your sows liver is operating at optimal levels.
