EFFECTS OF SUPPLEMENTAL BIOTIN DURING GESTATION AND LACTATION ON REPRODUCTIVE-PERFORMANCE OF SOWS - A COOPERATIVE STUDY

A cooperative experiment to evaluate biotin addition to sow diets was conducted at three research stations using 303 litters. Primiparous and multiparous sows (overall average parity 2.8) were fed at 14% CP corn-soybean meal diet (140-mu-g/kg biotin), with or without supplemental biotin (330-mu-g added biotin per kg feed), throughout gestation and lactation. As many sows as possible were fed their respective diets through three successive parities. During gestation, sows were given from 1.82 to 2.27 kg of feed per day, depending on environmental conditions; during lactation sows had ad libitum access to feed. Supplemental biotin had no effect (P > .35) on sow weights at breeding, at d 109 of gestation, at farrowing or at weaning. No differences were found in litter size at birth (P > .18), but at d 21 of lactation, sows fed the diet containing supplemental biotin had larger litters than sows fed the unsupplemented diet (9.4 vs 8.7 pigs, respectively; P = .01). Pig weights at birth and d 21 of lactation were not affected (P > .20) by dietary treatment. Biotin supplementation did not affect (P > .28) the length of the interval from weaning to estrus. No evidence was found that feet cracks or bruises were reduced by biotin supplementation. The results indicate that biotin supplementation of a corn-soybean meal diet during gestation and lactation increased the number of pigs at d 21 of lactation, but it did not decrease the incidence of foot lesions.