ENERGY AND PROTEIN-REQUIREMENTS IN THE RE PRODUCTIVE SOW

Energy and protein requirements of sows can vary widely according to p hysiological stage, reproductive performance, behaviour and housing co nditions. It is why we propose to calculate these nutritional requirem ents by the factorial approach, in order to determine a feeding strate gy that allows to maintain adequate body reserves over the whole repro ductive life, and minimize reproductive disorders. During lactation th e energy requirements are high and closely related to milk production, whereas in pregnancy they are low and mainly affected by the housing conditions or the behaviour of the animal. In the same way, amino acid s requirements are rather low in pregnancy and they increase drastical ly in lactation, according to the high protein output in milk and the insufficient appetite of the sow during that period. Thus, it is recom mended to adapt the composition of the diet according to the nutrition al requirement of each physiological stage.