Should male pigs vaccinated against boar taint be restrictively fed after the second vaccination ?

Poster. An over-consumption of feed was noticed in male pigs vaccinated against boar taint (Improvac®) after the second vaccination (V2).The increase in feed intake may result in increased body fatness and decreased feed efficiency. The effect of feed restriction on these criteria and on pig behavior was investigated over the 22 to 115 kg BW range in a batch of 120 group‐housed boars (five pigs/pen). The male pigs were first vaccinated at 62 days of age and a second time (V2) at 131 days of age and then slaughtered 4 to 5 weeks later. They were either fed ad libitum (AL treatment) or received a maximum daily feed allowance of 2.5 (R2.5 treatment) or 2.75 kg/pig (R2.75 treatment). Behavioral observations and lesion scoring were conducted on V2‐6 d, V2+7 d and V2+21 d. Between V2 and slaughter, feed allowance in R2.75 and R2.5 treatments was 15 to 22% below average AL feed intake (3.20 kg/d), respectively. Feed restriction was associated with a reduced ADG between V2 and the 1st departure to the slaughterhouse (894, 947 and 1086 g/d in R2.5, R2.75 and AL groups, P0.10) or carcass leanness. A slight increase in negative behavior was observed at the beginning of the restriction period; also, aggression between pigs occurred a bit later resulting in higher lesion scores in R2.5 and R2.75 pigs than in AL ones (P