Delta® Iron, special iron

Iron deficiency anaemia causes general weakness and stunted growth. The risk of mortality is increased. Digestive secretions are reduced. Immune resistance is affected.
At birth, piglets have 50 mg of iron in their reserves, mainly in the form of haemoglobin. The rest is stored in the liver, bone marrow, spleen and muscles (myoglobin).

The reserves of newborn piglets allow them to survive for 3-4 days. The daily requirement for piglets suckling from their mothers is approximately 10 to 15 mg/day. Breast milk provides only 1 mg/day/piglet. Iron supplementation is therefore essential.

Delta® Iron oral iron solution has undergone extensive research and testing prior to its commercial launch. It ensures optimal iron coverage to compensate for postnatal iron deficiency.

Delta® Iron in figures

Since its launch in 2018, Delta® Iron has proven itself in the field. Today, 25% of French pig farmers use it. This highly palatable oral iron solution is perfectly assimilated by newborn piglets. Delta® Iron
is the alternative of choice to iron injections.

• More than 2,500 blood samples to understand iron assimilation in piglets.
• More than 15 comparative trials in France and Europe
• 7 products compared

Delta® Iron ensures optimal iron coverage for piglets

Result: comparative tests carried out on farms between different solutions available on the market (oral paste, injectable iron, oral powders) show a clear advantage for Delta® Iron.

Reliability of samples

Deltavit conducted its field trials using a combination of the three most common methods on the market: laboratory haemoglobin measurement, measurement with HEMOCUE® (more than 150 samples) and with HEMOSMART GOLD®. The conclusions for each method are all in favour of Delta® Iron.

Lessons

Analysis of these numerous samples highlighted some known parameters and some unexpected ones:

• Time savings and less hassle when using oral iron vs. injectable iron.
• Veterinarians and technicians observe a reduced risk of arthritis with oral iron.
• Injection is not foolproof and fails in 5% of cases (defective equipment, non-compliance with dosages, handling errors, injection too late).
• Nearly 15% of piglets have low haemoglobin values in PS (injectable or oral iron).
  Redistribution or re-injection of iron before weaning corrects this risk and improves growth performance (for more information, see the summary of Deltavit trials and the Pig Progress article published in August 2019 on the subject of iron).

Recommendations

Reference Hb values (g/dL):

• > 11 expected level
• 9 < Hb<11: risk of iron deficiency
• < 9: anaemic
• < 7 severe anaemia

The average is an indicator, but it is the consistency of the results that counts.

• Regardless of the method of iron administration (oral or injectable), iron must be administered before day 5.
• Standard distribution of Delta® Iron on days 3, 5 and 7. For the best-performing farms, based on haemoglobin measurements, 1 to 2 additional iron distributions before weaning may be beneficial (regardless of whether the first iron intake was injectable or oral).