into specialized housings which were emptied and thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before the introduction of a new group as per EU regulations.
Sows and piglets were daily checked for health or eating problems
checked
Based on occurrence of farrowing during that week and based on a minimum litter size of 10 live born piglets, 22 and 24 sows were enrolled in the treatment and control group,
Farrowing was not induced and manual birth assistance was only performed when birth interval
between two piglets exceeded one hour
2.Experimental design