Linking the sow diet to piglet nutrition via sensory imprinting improves piglet performance postweaning

The influence of the sow diet on piglet feeding behavior is a relatively new topic of research in pig nutrition. The use of a flavour to link the taste of the sow and the weaner diet can benefit the sow by improving voluntary feed intake during lactation and provide a familiar taste to the young piglets that can encourage early consumption of feed at weaning. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the supplementation of feed with a flavour in diets for sows during lactation and evaluate a possible carry-on effect via sensory imprinting on the post-weaning performance of piglets receiving the same flavour. A total of 200 mixed-parity sows were allocated to one of two treatments during lactation; a control diet or a diet with the inclusion a feed flavour. After weaning, 1,680 piglets were distributed in a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design (sow treatment and piglet flavour exposure via starter feed). The feed flavour influenced voluntary feed intake, with the flavour fed sows having a higher intake than control fed sows (6.15 vs. 5.32 kg/d, respectively). The lactation body weight (BW) variation was influenced by treatments with flavour sows having a higher BW loss (5.22 vs. 0.51 kg, respectively). There was an effect of the treatment on litter daily gain where litters from flavour sows showed a higher daily gain when compared to the control (2.36 vs. 2.06 kg/d respectively). Consequently, flavour fed sows weaned heavier litters (71.85 vs. 64.92 kg, respectively for flavour and control), and the average weaning weight was also higher for piglets from flavour sows when compared to control (5.62 vs. 5.07 kg, respectively). Average daily milk production was higher in the flavour sows when compared with the control fed sows (12.18 vs. 10.67 kg/d respectively). An interaction of the effects of previous exposure to the flavour during the lactation phase and the use of the sow-flavour during nursery was observered. Whereas, piglets receving the sow-flavour showed a higher intake than control piglets. As a consequence of the higher feed intake, the treatments influenced piglet average weight gain and final weight, with a higher total weight gain for sow-flavour fed piglets. Feed conversion ratio was also influenced by the treatments with the sow-flavour fed piglets having the lowest values. In conclusion, the use of a flavour can be an important tool to establish a link between the ingredients that make up the sows' diet and the establishment of the piglets' sensory memory. The imprinting effect can improve voluntary feed intake of the piglet during the first week post-weaning, all of which can help reduce the negative effects of the challenges of the weaning process.