Effect Of Oral Meloxicam Administration In Sows At Farrowing On Piglet Growth And Immunity
Lieven Claerhout
Farrowing is an intrinsically painful process in sows. Injury, inflammation, and fever associated with farrowing have negative effects on health, welfare and productivity. Alleviating inflammation and pain at farrowing reduces discomfort in sows. The beneficial impact of meloxicam oral administration at farrowing on the maternal antibody transfer to piglets and piglet growth was investigated in a field study.
Multiparous sows were randomly treated with either oral meloxicam or a mock administration for the control group. Fifteen multiparous sows were treated once orally via a drench with meloxicam at 0.4 mg/kg bodyweight at the beginning of farrowing (2.6 and 5.4 piglets were born at the time of treatment in the oral meloxicam and control groups, respectively). Meloxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug demonstrating a high potency against fever, inflammation and pain. The control group also comprised fifteen multiparous sows.
A total of 325 piglets were individually weighed at farrowing (day 0) and at weaning (day 21). A significant difference in weight at weaning was found as the mean bodyweight in the meloxicam oral group was 418 g higher (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Mean bodyweight (g) of piglets at birth and at weaning in the control and meloxicam oral groups (p < 0.01)
Meloxicam treatment resulted in a significant daily growth increase of 19 g per piglet (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Average daily weight gain (g/day) from birth to weaning at 21 days in the control and meloxicam oral groups (p < 0.001)
Four piglets per sow (two piglets suckling from anterior teats and two piglets suckling from posterior teats) were selected for blood sampling on day 1, day 2 and day 20 post farrowing to perform immunoglobulin G (IgG) analysis. Serum analyses demonstrated a significant difference on day 1 and 2 (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Mean serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels in samples taken from piglets in the control and meloxicam oral groups on days 1, 2 and 20 post farrowing (**p < 0.01, *p < 0.05)
Conclusion
Administering a meloxicam oral suspension such as Pyrocam® to sows at the beginning of farrowing reduces inflammation and pain. This enhances their maternal and nursing behaviour and improves immunoglobulin transfer to their piglets. As a result, the antibody concentration in piglets' serum and pre-weaning growth increases significantly. This contributes to the welfare and productivity of both sows and piglets.
Reference
Mainau, E., Temple, D. and Manteca, X. (2016). Experimental study on the effect of oral meloxicam administration in sows on pre-weaning mortality and growth and immunoglobulin G transfer to piglets. Preventative Veterinary Medicine, 126. 48-53. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.01.032.
