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Weaning is a stressful time for piglets, often leading to weight loss and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. A leading cause for these post-weaning problems is enteric dysbiosis and methods to improve piglet health at this crucial developmental stage are needed. This study aimed to determine whether an enteric dysbiosis caused by weaning could be corrected via a faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from healthy piglets from a previous wean. Two or four focal piglets per litter were assigned to one of two treatments; FMT two days post weaning (n = 21; FMT) or a control which received saline two days post weaning (n = 21; CON). FMT consisted of homogenised donor faeces administered orally at 3 mL/kg. Weaning occurred at 18 days of age and weights and faecal samples were collected on days 18, 20, 24 and 35. 16S rRNA amplicon analysis was used to assess the faecal microbiota of piglets. FMT increased Shannon’s diversity post weaning (p < 0.001) and reduced the scratch score observed at 24 days of age (p < 0.001). The bacterial populations significantly differed in composition at each taxonomic level. In FMT pigs, significant increases in potentially pathogenic Escherichia coli were observed. However, increases in beneficial bacteria Lactobacillus mucosae and genera Fibrobacteres and Bacteroidetes were also observed in FMT treated animals. To our knowledge, this is the first study to observe a significant effect on piglet faecal microbiota following a single FMT administered post weaning. Therefore, FMT post weaning can potentially alleviate enteric dysbiosis.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed The swine industry has evolved significantly in the recent decades, but this has come at considerable expense to piglet survival. Breeding sows for greater prolificacy has been accompanied by a greater proportion of piglets being born underweight, of lower vigor, and higher susceptibility to early mortality. Inducing sows to farrow during working hours has the potential to increase piglet survivability, but non-therapeutic injectable products are often discouraged on farms. We aimed to design and develop a novel vaginal drug delivery system (NVDDS) that could reliably trigger luteolysis and induce parturition. To achieve this, two vaginal tablets containing the luteolytic agent cloprostenol were formulated to be inserted together: one would release constituents immediately on insertion (immediate release; IR) and the other would release cloprostenol in a controlled manner (controlled release; CR). The two formulations (IR and CR) were evaluated for drug release, swelling and bio-adhesion in conditions simulating the sow vaginal environment. The IR tablet released the drug completely for 5 min whereas the CR tablet took 5 h to release 50% of the drug. Furthermore, the release kinetics were evaluated by fitting the dissolution profiles into different mathematical models. Both IR and CR tablets were best fitted by the Makoid–Banakar model which assumes release by summation of different mechanisms. The performance of the optimized formulations was studied in vivo with 161 Large White x Landrace sows of varying parity (0–5). The sows were assigned to five groups. Group 1 (SI) received a single vulval injection of cloprostenol at 0700 h (n = 32), group 2 (SDI) received the same dose split in two parts, at 0700h and 1300h (n = 33). Group 3 (IRT) animals were administered an IR tablet at 0700h (n = 32), while group 4 (IRCRT) received both IR and CR tablets at 0700 h (n = 33). Group 5 was untreated and served as a control (n = 32). The interval to farrowing was longer (p < 0.001) for controls than for treated sows, but there were no differences among cloprostenol treatments for timing of farrowing. The finding confirms the efficacy of the NVDDS for induction of farrowing in sows.

Antimicrobial use in animals and the potential development of antimicrobial resistance is a global concern. So, non-antimicrobial techniques for animal disease control are needed. This study aimed to determine whether neonatal ceftiofur (CF) treatment affects piglet faecal microbiomes and whether faecal microbiome transplantation (FMT) can correct it. Two focal piglets per sow were assigned to treatments as follows: cffresh (n = 6) received CF (3 mg/kg intramuscular) at 7 d and fresh FMT at 13 d, cffrozen (n = 7) received CF at 7 d and frozen FMT at 13 d, CF (n = 8) received CF at 7 d and no FMT, and no CF (n = 5) received no CF or FMT. DNA was extracted from faecal samples collected on days 7, 13, and 18 for 16S rRNA amplicon analysis. All faecal blends used for the FMT consisted of pooled donor pig faeces at 1:2 ratio with saline, delivered orally at 3 mL/kg. Alpha and beta diversity metrics increased with age (p &lt, 0.05). However, no effect of antibiotic or FMT treatment was evident in 13 and 18 d old piglets (p &gt, 0.05). Although no effect of treatment was observed, information regarding microbial membership during lactation was gained.

Simple Summary Piglet preweaning mortality is a major economic loss and welfare concern for the global pork industry, with the industry average sitting at approximately 15%. As such, novel methods for reducing this mortality are needed. Since research into the intestinal microbiota has provided advances in human health, in particular the impact of early life factors, it was the logical next step to synthesise the existing literature to determine the potential relevance to the pig industry. It is evident from the literature that this area of research provides promising results. However, a large gap within the literature currently exists within the lactation period in pigs. Since optimal development within early life is proving to be critical for human infants, it is crucial that further research is invested into understanding the impact of early life events on a piglet’s microbiome. It is hoped that this review will enable access to critical information for those interested in the microbiome and its potential for improving herd health on the farm. Abstract The intestinal microbiota has received a lot of attention in recent times due to its essential role in the immune system development and function. Recent work in humans has demonstrated that the first year of life is the most critical time period for microbiome development with perturbations during this time being proven to have long term health consequences. In this review, we describe the literature surrounding early life events in humans and mice that contribute to intestinal microbiota development and function, and compare this to piglets predominantly during their lactation period, which focuses on the impact lactation management practices may have on the intestinal microbiota. Although extensive research has been conducted in this area in humans and mice, little research exists in pigs during perceivably the most critical time period of development, which is the lactation period. The research reviewed outlines the importance of appropriate intestinal microbiota development. However, further research is needed in order to understand the full extent routine farm practices have on a piglet’s intestinal microbiota.