2008 Univ of NE Swine Report- Dietary Fiber in Sow Gestation Diets

Twenty-four published reports dating from 1975 to 2007 were examined to determine the overall effects of feeding gestation sows additional fiber. Sow and litter traits among trials were weighted by the number of litters for each treatment within each trial. Overall, sows can successfully consume high-fiber diets during gestation with few deleterious effects. Positive effects from feeding high-fiber diets were evident in litter size (0.2 to 0.6 pigs/litter) and sow lactation feed intake (0.5 to 0.8 lb/day), but they are not largely evident until the second reproductive cycle following exposure to the diet. Its possible that to ensure sow and litter performance improvements from feeding fiber, fiber must be included in the diet before mating.