Influence of feed flavors and nursery diet complexity on preweaning and nursery pig performance1,2

Abstract

In Exp. 1, 50 sows and their litters were used to determine the effects of adding a feed flavor to the creep diet on the proportion of pigs consuming creep feed ("eaters") and preweaning performance. Sows were blocked according to parity and date of farrowing and allotted to 2 experimental treatments: 1) litters fed a creep diet with no flavor (negative control) or 2) negative control diet with the feed flavor (Luctarom) included at 1,500 mg/kg. Both creep diets contained 1.0% chromic oxide and were offered ad libitum from d 18 until weaning at d 21. Adding flavor to the creep diet did not (P > 0.41) affect weaning weights, total BW gain, ADG, total creep feed intake, daily creep feed intake, or the proportion of creep feed eaters in whole litters. In Exp. 2, 480 weanling pigs (6.58 ± 0.41 kg; 20 ± 2 d) from Exp. 1 were randomly selected by preweaning treatment group, blocked by initial BW, and allotted to 1 of 8 treatments in a randomized complete block design to determine the interactive effects of preweaning exposure to flavor (exposed vs. unexposed), nursery diet complexity (complex vs. simple), and flavor addition to nursery diets (with vs. without flavor). Each treatment had 10 replications (pens) with 6 pigs per pen. Diets with flavor were supplemented with the flavor at 1,500 mg/kg in phase 1 diets and 1,000 mg/kg in phase 2 diets. A tendency for a 3-way interaction for ADG from d 5 to 10 (P = 0.10), 10 to 28 (P = 0.09), and 0 to 28 (P = 0.06) was observed. Postweaning ADG of pigs exposed to flavor in creep feed and fed flavored complex diets in the nursery was greater than pigs in any other treatment combination. Increasing diet complexity improved (P < 0.01) ADG and ADFI during both postweaning phases. Adding flavor to creep feed had no effect on G:F (P > 0.34) and pig BW (P > 0.45) in both postweaning periods. Adding flavor to starter diets tended to improve ADFI (P = 0.06) during d 0 to 5. In conclusion, adding flavor to the creep feed did not affect litter creep feed intake, the proportion of piglets consuming creep feed, or preweaning performance when creep was provided for 3 d before weaning. Preweaning exposure to feed flavor improved postweaning ADG in pigs fed complex diets supplemented with the same flavor but did not influence performance of pigs fed simple diets.

Effect of zinc oxide sources and dosages on gut microbiota and integrity of weaned piglets

“…It was noticed that feed intake was neglectable in the first 2 days after weaning, leading to malaise. Other factors that might have contributed to this lack of performance are the simple composition of the diet (Sulabo et al, 2010), no growth-promoting Cu in the diet (Bikker, Jongbloed, & van Baal, 2016) and low weaning age (Gu, Li, & She, 2002). With regard to the latter, weaning age was 20 days which is not uncommon in batch-farrowing farms with strict planning since it is observed that with modern hyperprolific sows gestation length increases giving an actual weaning age being lower than scheduled.…”

Impact of sensory feed additives on feed intake, feed preferences, and growth of female piglets during the early postweaning period1

“…That the FA2 unfamiliar starter diet was preferred to the standard starter diet with no additive on the day of feed transition suggests that the FA2 has the ability to mask the change of feed and would be efficient to reduce the negative effect of feed neophobia and maintain feed intake during a sudden feed transition. Certain flavors and sensory additives have the ability to mask the negative properties of unpalatable ingredients, which results in increased feed intake and preferences for the flavoring diets in pigs (Baidoo et al, 1986;Tedò et al, 2008;Sulabo et al, 2010;Michiels et al, 2012). Roura et al (2007) also demonstrated the ability of certain aroma to mask the change of feed during a sudden feed transition.…”

“…First, in the present study, it is likely that the small number of animals (n = 8) prevented us from finding significant effects on feed intake and piglets' performance. As proposed by Sulabo et al (2010), it is likely that a great individual variation in palatability perception might also be responsible for the lack of systematic preferences. We assume that repeating the experiment on a larger number of animals would enable us to tackle this issue.…”

“…Second, individual characteristics, such as age or sex, may greatly influence the effects of feed additives on pigs' performance and feed intake (e.g., growing vs. finishing pigs; Thacker and Haq, 2009;Yan et al, 2011Yan et al, , 2012. Third, the period of exposure to the feed additive may also affect its impact on piglets' performance, and exposure to the additives from weaning might have been insufficient to see appreciable effects on growth and feed intake (Sulabo et al, 2010). Exposing the piglets to the feed additives through maternal milk during the suckling period by adding the additive directly in the diet of lactating sows might enable to improve growth performance and intake during the early growing period (Ilsley et al, 2003;Matysiak et al, 2012).…”

Dietary supplementation with glutamine or glutamic acid for weanling piglets

“…Currently, piglets are early-weaned around three weeks of age in Brazil, a fact that requires attention due to their nutritional requirements and digestive system immaturity. The composition of piglet diets is altered at weaning, once milk is replaced by a solid diet, predisposing animals to nutritional stress which may result in feed intake reduction, poor digestibility, and diarrhea (Sulabo et al, 2010). The reduced secretion of hydrochloric acid by the piglet's stomach and the limited production and activity of pancreatic and intestinal enzymes are also an issue of concern (Heo et al, 2013).…”