Postpartum prostaglandin F2alpha administration affects colostrum yield, IgG and piglet performance.

Objective To determine the effect of postpartum PGF2alpha administration on colostrum and milk yield, colostrum IgG and piglet growth performance. Methods In total, 36 sows were included in the experiment. The sows were classified into two groups: i) control (n=11) and ii) PGF2alpha (n=25). Sows in the PGF2alpha group received 10 mg of PGF2alpha within an hour after farrowing. The body weight of piglets was measured at 0 and 24 h after birth to estimate colostrum consumption. Colostrum was collected at 1 and 24 h after farrowing to determine IgG concentrations. For milk yield study, the remaining sows in the PGF2alpha group (n=23) were divided into two subgroups: i) single PGF2alpha (n=12) and ii) multiple PGF2alpha (n=11). In the multiple PGF2alpha, the sows received repeated doses of PGF2alpha at seven and 14 days postpartum. The piglets' body weight was measured at 0, 1, 5 and 20 days of age. The milk yield of the sows was calculated. Results Colostrum yield of sows averaged 5.62±2.25 kg. Sows treated with PGF2alpha postpartum had a higher colostrum yield than control (7.01 and 5.12 kg, p<0.05). The concentration of IgG in colostrum at 24 h in the PGF2alpha group was higher than the control (31.6 and 17.4 g/L, p<0.05). For primiparous sows, milk yield was highest in the sows treated with multiple doses of PGF2alpha during lactation and lowest in control sows (10.25 and 7.61 kg, p<0.05). Colostrum intake was higher in the treatment than the control groups (+56.7 g, p<0.05). Primiparous sows treated with multiple doses of PGF2alpha had a higher litter weight than controls (p<0.01). Conclusion Postpartum treatment with PGF2alpha improved colostrum yield and IgG in multiparous sows and increased colostrum intake of piglets. Multiple administration of PGF2alpha improved the milk yield and increased litter weight of piglets in primiparous sows.