Deliverable D2.7 Databases with traits relative to the adaptation of growing pigs and sows to challenging environmental conditions

Objectives

Feed-a-gene aims to better adapt different components of monogastric livestock production systems to improve the overall efficiency and to reduce the environmental impact. This involves among others the development of new and alternative feed resources and feed technologies, the identification and selection of robust animals that are better adapted to fluctuating conditions and the development of feeding techniques that allow optimizing the potential of the feed and the animal. In the project, one objective of WP2 “New traits for feed efficiency” was to evaluate the short and long-term consequences of environmental perturbations on feed efficiency. The data generated in three trials performed in Feed-a-Gene can be used for modelling the response of pigs to changes in environmental conditions. These dynamic models will help to better account for environmental disturbances and robustness in pig production. These data will be also used for validating models dealing with the detection of individual responses of pigs to perturbations in feed intake implemented in the WP3 of the Feed-a-Gene project.
The databases presented here contain data on individual growth performance recorded daily in finishing pigs submitted to short-term environmental challenges. These challenges included temporary provisions of a low-energy-density diet or a diet contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON), or short exposures to an acute heat stress (HS) challenge. Part of results related to these databases have been published (Renaudeau et al., 2017; Serviento et al., 2018) or will be published soon (Renaudeau, in preparation).