Unusual acute neonatal mortality and sow agalactia linked with ergot alkaloid contamination of feed.

In the present case, the exposure of sows to 3.49 mg/kg ergot alkaloid for 10 to 15 days before the end of gestation and to 8.06 mg/kg ergot alkaloid over 3 to 4 days at the beginning of lactation - corresponding to a content of 10,146 mg of sclerotia/kg in the wheat of the diets- led to agalactia in 13 of 20 sows in a batch and to a high neonatal mortality rates for all litters. No clinical signs associated with vasoconstrictive effects were observed.