电刺激对产后母猪行为及生产性能的影响

解救被压哺乳仔猪是提高规模化养殖场生产效益的重要手段，其中电刺激是最新技术之一，为优化目前电刺激技术研究参数单一，母猪过度反应等问题，该研究基于反应有效性和惊吓指数两类参数分析了产后母猪不同身体部位在不同刺激电压下的反应，确定了电刺激技术参数适宜值，并验证了该参数对母猪生产性能的影响。结果表明：电刺激装置通电0.5 s后，母猪在刺激电压2 000和2 400 V下的有效反应率皆为75%以上，且这2种刺激电压下发生有效反应的概率极显著高于1 200 V(P<0.01)。母猪腰部的有效反应率为70.8%，该部位发生有效反应的概率比侧腹部和大腿根部高将近3倍左右。当刺激部位为腰部，刺激电压为2 400 V时，母猪惊吓指数上限高于60%；当刺激部位为腰部，刺激电压2 000 V时，惊吓指数上限低于60%，综合有效反应和惊吓指数结果，建议电刺激适宜参数为：电压2 000 V，刺激部位为腰部。生产试验结果表明：在整个哺乳期，执行电刺激适宜参数的试验组母猪的平均日采食量（5.50 kg）和断奶窝质量（58.91 kg）略高于对照组的日采食量（5.45 kg）和断奶窝质量（58.42 kg），但...

Effects of electrical stimulation on the behavior and production performance of postpartum sows

Electrical stimulation has emerged as a promising technique to save crushed piglets. But only the individual parameter of electrical stimulation was considered in the excessive response of sows. In this study, a systematic investigation was conducted to determine the response of the effectiveness and startle index of sows under different body positions and stimulated voltages. An evaluation was made to clarify the electrical stimulation on the production performance of sows. The field experiment was conducted at a farrowing house in Shandong Province, China, between November and December of 2022. A total of 72 healthy first-born sows were selected and then randomly assigned to 12 treatment groups, with six sows in each group. The waist, flank, and thigh root were selected as the stimulated positions. Electrical stimulation was applied at voltages of 1200, 1600, 2000, and 2400V, resulting in a total of 12 treatments. The hair was removed from the stimulated positions of all experimental sows, in order to ensure that the positive and negative electrodes of the electrical stimulation device were in close contact with the pig''s skin. An electrical stimulation was administered, when the sow side lying. Their body behaviors (lie, sit, stand, and jump) and sounds (silent, grunt, bark, squeal, and bite) were synchronously recorded by a mobile phone camera. An optimal combination was determined for the most appropriate electrical stimulated position and stimulated voltage. The feed intake and growth rate of piglets were measured to verify the impact of appropriate electrical stimulation on the production performance of sows. Two treatment groups of five sows were randomly assigned to the total of 10 healthy first-born sows with a minimum of 12 functional nipples. The newborn piglets were fostered within the first 24 hours after birth. There was no significant difference in the litter weights (P>0.05). Furthermore, the electrical stimulation was applied daily on each lying sow between 08:00-17:00 in the treatment group within the first three days post-partum. There was no intervention in the control group. All sows were fed three times per day from day 8 to 21 of the lactation (weaning age). The results demonstrate that the effective response rate and the startle index of the test sows showed an upward trend, as the voltage increased. The effective response rate of the test sows was below 50% at stimulated voltages of 1200 and 1600V. However, the effective response rate exceeded 75% in 2000 and 2400V. Compared with the voltage of 1200V, the probability of effective response of the sows under these voltages (2000 and 2400V) increased by about 21.645 and 52.366 times, respectively, which was extremely significant (P<0.01). The effective response rate of the waist was 70.8% for the stimulated positions, which was higher than the flank and thigh root by 20.8%. The probability of effective response of the waist was nearly 3 times higher than the flank. Lower voltage was negligible to stimulate the standing response of sows. But, the maximum startle index of the sows exceeded 60% at a stimulated voltage of 2400V. It inferred that the risk of stress reactions of saws increased their production performance. The maximum startle index was lower than 60% at 2000V. Therefore, electrical stimulation of 2000V can be recommended to place the electrical stimulation device on the waist, according to the effective response and startle index. The production experiment demonstrated that the feed intake per day (5.50kg) and weaning litter weight (58.91 kg) of the experimental group under the appropriate electrical stimulation parameters were slightly higher than the control group, which were the average daily feed intake (5.45 kg) and weaning litter weight (58.42 kg). But the differences were not significant (P>0.05). The appropriate parameters (2000V, waist) had no statistically significant effect on the reproductive performance of sows. These findings can provide valuable reference and data support for the development and application of equipment to rescue piglets.