SUMMARY Teat orders were determined for 76 litters of Large White and Large White × Landrace pigs. Regression analysis within litters revealed a relationship between suckling position and weight both at birth (P<0·01) and at 3 weeks of age (P<0·001), with the heavier piglets tending to occupy the more anterior teats. The correlation coefficients, however, were very small ( r = –0·16 and –0·22 respectively). The correlation between birth weight and 3-week weight was much larger ( r = +0·47); and a comparison of pairs of litter-mates showed that a difference in birth weight of 0·25 kg or more persisted at 3 weeks in the majority of cases, regardless of which piglet suckled the more anterior teat. Birth weight accounted for much more of the variation in 3-week weight than did teat number, and, when the effect of birth weight had been taken into account, teat number accounted for only an additional 2·3% of the variation. Even so, the anterior teats did appear to confer some advantage which was independent of that of the birth weight of the piglets suckling these teats. From the results of this and other studies it is concluded that there is only a weak relationship between suckling position and weight at birth and 3 weeks. Other unidentified factors are probably of more importance for the within-litter variation in weight gain of suckling pigs.
Abstract Consumption of solid food before weaning and growth before and after weaning were studied in 24 litters of eight to 13 Yorkshire × Landrace piglets per litter. From day 21 until weaning at day 28,12 litters were provided with a single two-space feeder, while the other 12 litters were provided with four similar feeders. Daily food intake by each litter was recorded throughout this period and feeding behaviour of individual piglets was filmed during the final 24 h. On the one-feeder treatment there were 4·1 (s.e. 0·6) piglets per litter which fed very little on the day before weaning (< 0·005 of sample video frames). These tended to have high birth weights and high growth rates on days 0 to 21, but low growth rates on days 28 to 42. Conversely, piglets which fed most on creep food were often those which had gained least on days 0 to 21. The four-feeder treatment increased average intake in the last 3 days before weaning and reduced the number of piglets which fed very little in the final 24 h to 0·6 (s.e. 0·3) per litter. However, neither average growth after weaning nor the occurrence of poorly performing individuals was different between treatments. Furthermore, regression analysis of factors related to weight gain from days 28 to 42 showed that feeding behaviour proportionately accounted for 0·02 only of within-litter variation and food intake on days 21 to 28 did not contribute significantly to between-Utter variation. These results suggest that low consumption of solid food before weaning is a predictor of poor growth after weaning, but not a cause.
This is an introduction to British classical music from the Middle Ages to the present. It covers all the great composers and includes other musical subjects such as the Master of the Kings Music and the Proms. There are 25 contributors, themselves musicians, musical directors or music journalists.
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