Association of Total Milk Solids Intake and Litter Growth: Data from α α -lactalbumin Transgenic Sows

Milk is a pivotal factor in piglet survival, growth, development, and pre-weaning piglet body composition. The demonstration that heavier weaning piglets attain market weight faster than lighter weaning piglets (Mahan and Lepine, 1991) has sparked increasing interest in exploiting the lactation period to enhance overall piglet growth and pork production. With increasing desire for piglets that grow at a faster rate and attain greater lean mass deposition, tailoring milk quantities and milk composition to optimize these traits would be of great value to the swine producer.