The Effect of Feeding Liquid or Dry Creep Feed on Growth Performance, Feed Disappearance, Enzyme Activity and Number of Eaters in Suckling Piglets

Byrgesen, Nanna; Madsen, Johannes Gulmann; Larsen, Christina; Kjeldsen, N.J.; Cilieborg, Malene Skovsted; Amdi, Charlotte

doi:10.3390/ani11113144

Cited by 19 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…It is possible that the greater starch content in the COM diet (14% vs. 8% starch for COM and milk-based creep feeds, respectively) promoted jejunal mucosal maltase-specific activity before weaning. A previous study by Byrgesen et al (2021) found that, at weaning, disaccharidase activity was greater for pigs that provided a pelleted creep feed vs. a liquid feed with matched composition, despite the liquid-fed pigs consuming more feed (on dry matter-basis) for most of the preweaning feeding period. However, in the current study, differences in disaccharidase enzyme activity were not attributed to creep feed form alone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

The effects of creep feed composition and form and nursery diet complexity on small intestinal morphology and jejunal mucosa-specific enzyme activities after weaning in pigs

Christensen

Huber

2022

Journal of Animal Science

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Fifty-six litters from first-parity sows standardized to 12 piglets were used to determine the effects of creep feed composition and form and the provision of low- or high-complexity nursery diets on the evolution of small intestinal histomorphology and jejunal mucosa specific enzyme activities post-weaning. At five days of age, litters (initial BW 2.31±0.61 kg) were assigned to one of four creep feeding regimens (n=14): [1] commercial creep feed (COM), [2] liquid milk replacer (LMR), [3] pelleted milk replacer (PMR), or [4] no creep feed (NO). At weaning (21 days of age), six pigs per litter were provided a HIGH- (contained highly digestible animal proteins) or LOW- (contained corn and soybean meal as main protein sources) complexity nursery diet (n=7). At 21, 28, and 59 days of age, two pigs per pen (1 castrated male and 1 female) were euthanized and ileal and jejunal segments for histomorphological measurements and jejunal mucosal scrapings were collected to determine specific mucosa enzyme activities. At weaning, pigs provided COM had a greater ileal absorptive capacity (M) than LMR or NO, which were not different (14.1 vs. 10.4 and 10.5±0.9 μm 2; P < 0.05); PMR was intermediate. On days 28 and 59, M was not different among pigs regardless of creep feed treatments. Pigs fed LOW had reduced jejunal villus height (VH; P < 0.001) and M (P < 0.001) on day 28 versus day 21. The VH and M were not different for pigs fed HIGH or LOW by the end of the nursery period. For all dietary treatments except COM-HIGH and COM-LOW, jejunal mucosal maltase specific activity was not different between days 21 and 28 of age, but greater on day 59 (P < 0.05). For pigs that received COM-HIGH, maltase specific activity was not different between days 21 and 28 but greater on day 59 than day 28 (P < 0.05). For pigs that received COM-LOW, maltase specific activity was not different between days 21, 28, and 59. Regardless of creep or nursery treatment, sucrase specific activity was the greatest on day 59, followed by day 21 and day 28 (P < 0.001) and lactase specific activity was greater on day 21 than days 28 and 59 (P < 0.001), which were not different. Therefore, pigs provided LOW diet had greater villus atrophy and reduced M during the first week after weaning versus pigs provided HIGH, regardless of creep feeding regimen, but were able to recover by the end of the nursery period.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

The effects of creep feed composition and form and nursery diet complexity on small intestinal morphology and jejunal mucosa-specific enzyme activities after weaning in pigs

Christensen

Huber

2022

Journal of Animal Science

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“…Christensen et al [ 30 ] concluded that providing supplemental nutrition such as creep feed does positively affect weaning weights, but this gain was lost over time in the nursery. On the other hand, Byrgensen et al [ 9 ] reported a tendency for dry-creep-fed piglets during lactation to have improved weight gain in the nursery. Further studies using improved creep feeder designs need to be conducted to determine whether the weight gain advantage during lactation is sustained throughout the nursery phase.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To help mitigate post-weaning stressors, creep feeding during the lactation period has been a practice utilized by the swine industry to provide nutrients to young pigs and to promote their adaptation to solid feed [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. While there is a dearth of evidence to prove that creep feeding definitively increases weaning weight, Byrgesen et al [ 9 ] reported effects related to gruel versus dry creep feeding. Building upon this, and as technology advances, new delivery methods of creep feed are being developed, varying from behavioral stimulation to easily accessible feeder designs [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gruel Creep Feeding Accelerates Growth and Alters Intestinal Health of Young Pigs

Boston

Wang

Lin

et al. 2022

Animals

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To combat the stress of weaning, we utilized novel gruel creep feeders to supplement suckling pigs with divergent soluble (n = 6 litters) versus insoluble (n = 6) diets compared with un-supplemented controls (n = 6). Post-weaning, pigs were fed a common phase 1 diet. Average daily weight gains of pigs fed soluble and insoluble creep diets were 53% and 17% greater than control pigs, respectively (p < 0.01). Creep intake was higher (82%) for pigs fed the soluble diet, and the accompanying weight increase was sustained post-weaning (p < 0.02). Villus measures were prematurely altered in soluble-creep-fed pigs (p < 0.01), with decreases in villi length, crypt depth, and villus area pre-weaning. No effects of treatment were detected for VFA concentrations and pH in the cecum. There was an interaction between treatment and age for several pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (p < 0.01), where soluble-creep-fed pigs had increased cytokine levels with age, whereas cytokine levels in the insoluble and control groups decreased over time. We conclude that a soluble creep diet fed in a gruel state during the pre-weaning period has a positive impact on weaning weight that is sustained post-weaning, and is accompanied by alterations in the intestinal health of young pigs.

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“…The transition from the sow’s milk to a dry and mainly plant-based feed results most often in a period of low feed intake or anorexia. In practice, suckling pigs are offered creep feed, most often dry, and less often as liquid feed, to let them become familiar to this form of feed and as a nutritional supplement to the sows milk for those piglets not being able to suckle enough [ 36 ]. Furthermore, and importantly, it is presumed that creep feed intake contributes to maturation of the gut function by stimulating the development of the gastrointestinal tract ( GI-tract ) microbiota and the activity of digestive enzymes (e.g., pancreatic enzymes and brush border enzymes) necessary to hydrolyse substrates of plant origin [ 36 , 37 , 38 ].…”

Section: Prevention Of Post-weaning Diarrhoea—mode Of Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In practice, suckling pigs are offered creep feed, most often dry, and less often as liquid feed, to let them become familiar to this form of feed and as a nutritional supplement to the sows milk for those piglets not being able to suckle enough [ 36 ]. Furthermore, and importantly, it is presumed that creep feed intake contributes to maturation of the gut function by stimulating the development of the gastrointestinal tract ( GI-tract ) microbiota and the activity of digestive enzymes (e.g., pancreatic enzymes and brush border enzymes) necessary to hydrolyse substrates of plant origin [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. This would mean that when piglets are weaned, their digestive system is more developed and more capable of digesting and absorbing dietary nutrients than piglets not ingesting any creep feed, and that their gut microbiota can better withstand the disturbances occurring at weaning.…”

Section: Prevention Of Post-weaning Diarrhoea—mode Of Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review on Preventive Measures to Reduce Post-Weaning Diarrhoea in Piglets

Canibe¹,

Højberg²,

Kongsted³

et al. 2022

Animals

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In many countries, medical levels of zinc (typically as zinc oxide) are added to piglet diets in the first two weeks post-weaning to prevent the development of post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD). However, high levels of zinc constitute an environmental polluting agent, and may contribute to the development and/or maintenance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among bacteria. Consequently, the EU banned administering medical levels of zinc in pig diets as of June 2022. However, this may result in an increased use of antibiotic therapeutics to combat PWD and thereby an increased risk of further AMR development. The search for alternative measures against PWD with a minimum use of antibiotics and in the absence of medical levels of zinc has therefore been intensified over recent years, and feed-related measures, including feed ingredients, feed additives, and feeding strategies, are being intensively investigated. Furthermore, management strategies have been developed and are undoubtedly relevant; however, these will not be addressed in this review. Here, feed measures (and vaccines) are addressed, these being probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics, proteobiotics, plants and plant extracts (in particular essential oils and tannins), macroalgae (particularly macroalgae-derived polysaccharides), dietary fibre, antimicrobial peptides, specific amino acids, dietary fatty acids, milk replacers, milk components, creep feed, vaccines, bacteriophages, and single-domain antibodies (nanobodies). The list covers measures with a rather long history and others that require significant development before their eventual use can be extended. To assess the potential of feed-related measures in combating PWD, the literature reviewed here has focused on studies reporting parameters of PWD (i.e., faeces score and/or faeces dry matter content during the first two weeks post-weaning). Although the impact on PWD (or related parameters) of the investigated measures may often be inconsistent, many studies do report positive effects. However, several studies have shown that control pigs do not suffer from diarrhoea, making it difficult to evaluate the biological and practical relevance of these improvements. From the reviewed literature, it is not possible to rank the efficacy of the various measures, and the efficacy most probably depends on a range of factors related to animal genetics and health status, additive doses used, composition of the feed, etc. We conclude that a combination of various measures is probably most recommendable in most situations. However, in this respect, it should be considered that combining strategies may lead to additive (e.g., synbiotics), synergistic (e.g., plant materials), or antagonistic (e.g., algae compounds) effects, requiring detailed knowledge on the modes of action in order to design effective strategies.

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The Effect of Feeding Liquid or Dry Creep Feed on Growth Performance, Feed Disappearance, Enzyme Activity and Number of Eaters in Suckling Piglets

Cited by 19 publications

References 29 publications

The effects of creep feed composition and form and nursery diet complexity on small intestinal morphology and jejunal mucosa-specific enzyme activities after weaning in pigs

The effects of creep feed composition and form and nursery diet complexity on small intestinal morphology and jejunal mucosa-specific enzyme activities after weaning in pigs

Gruel Creep Feeding Accelerates Growth and Alters Intestinal Health of Young Pigs

Review on Preventive Measures to Reduce Post-Weaning Diarrhoea in Piglets

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