Is the runt of the litter always the last born

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This little pig
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was not born last?

• Runt piglets are most likely to be located in the
  middle of the uterine horns but
• Delivery from the uterus is completely random so

• the runt is not necessarily born last!

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A Little Bit of Anatomy
Horn
Ovary
Body
Cervix
The Uterus
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A Little Bit of Anatomy
Runt
Body
Cervix
The Uterus
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Once upon an embryo

• There is great variation in the embryos

• Runt fetuses can be found as early as
• day 30 of the 114 day pregnancy

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• Smaller placental surface area limits absorption
  of nutrients

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This pig had colostrum
Colostrum initial secretion of mammary
glands high in fat, nutrients and
immunoglobulin
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this little pig had none!

• The runt gets pushed to the hind teats where
  there is less colostrum

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Once a runt

• Runts will initially grow in a compensatory
  manner but

• they dont have the same growth
  potential as their littermates

always a runt!
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Who YOU callin a runt ?

• Runt the smallest piglet that fails to thrive
• So
• they are not necessarily the last to be born
• but they do have the poorest growth potential

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Questions for us?
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