Feed Flavors and Sow Performance Under Heat Stress

Feed flavors have a huge impact on sow performance during heat stress, as Silva et al. (2018) reported in their study. The authors tested three treatments: control diet, supplementation of 250 g/ton of feed flavor, and 500 g/ton of the same feed flavor.

Results showed that feed flavor improved sow feed intake, going from 5.08 kg/day without supplementation to 6.60 kg/day with 500 g/ton of feed flavor. Consequently, average daily milk production was also higher in the group supplemented with 500 g/ton of feed flavor, followed by the 250 g/ton and the control group (12.99 vs. 9.55 vs. 8.59 kg/d, respectively).

Source: Silva, B. A. N., Tolentino, R. L. S., Eskinazi, S., Jacob, D. V., Raidan, F. S. S., Albuquerque, T. V., ... & Alcici, P. F. (2018). Evaluation of feed flavor supplementation on the performance of lactating high-prolific sows in a tropical humid climate. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 236, 141-148. Doi: