Energy Metabolism of the Newborn Pig during the First 24 h of Life

Metabolic rates (VO2) and respiratory quotients (RQ) have been measured in newborn pigs kept either in warm (31 degrees C = WG) or in cold (18 degrees C = CG) climatic conditions from birth to 24 h of age. The piglets were allowed to suckle every 80-85 min. At birth VO2 and RQ were high for both treatments. However, they became relatively constant after 30 min of life. They were higher for piglets kept in a cold environment (1.00 vs. 0.95 for RQ). After the first suckling VO2 increased steadily over the first 24 h of life for WG and was kept constant (29.5 ml O2/kg BW/min) for CG. RQ decreased from 0.90 to 0.80. For the first 24 h of life an increase of 55% of VO2 was observed when the ambient temperature was decreased from 31 to 18 degrees C. The fact that RQ was higher for CG than for WG (0.87 vs 0.83) indicates that the newborn pig kept in cold conditions enhances its utilization of carbohydrates, in order to increase its heat production. Finally, our results show the positive relationship between colostrum intake and metabolic rate and emphasize the nutritional importance of colostrum during the first day of life.