Evaluating the Effects of Replacing Feed Grade Antibiotics with Yeast, Cinnamon, or Zinc Oxide and Copper Sulfate on Nursery Pig Performance

A total of 288 weaned pigs (Line 200 × 400; DNA, Columbus, NE; initially 11.8 lb) were used in a 42-d study to compare the effects of feeding antibiotic alternatives (pharmacological trace minerals, copper and zinc, yeast, or essential oils), alone or in combination, on nursery pig performance in replacement to a common antimicrobial agent (carbadox, Mecadox®, Phibro Animal Health, Teaneck, NJ). Pigs were allotted to 1 of 9 dietary treatments in pens of 4 at weaning in a randomized complete block design with 8 replications per treatment. Dietary treatments were arranged with a negative control diet with no medication or other feed additive, a positive control with added carbadox, or 7 treatments including added copper sulfate (CuSO4; 0 vs. 125 ppm Cu) and added zinc oxide (ZnO; 0 vs. 3,000 ppm Zn from d 0 to 7 and 2,000 ppm Zn from d 7 to 28), essential oils from XTRACT 6930 (Capsicum oleoresin 2%, carvacrol 5%, cinnamaldehyde 3%, Pancosma North America, Drumondville, Quebec, Canada) at 2 lb/ton, Safmannan A (Yeast cell walls, Lesaffre Yeast Corporation, Milwaukee, WI) at 0.5 lb/ton, and Actisaf HR (yeast cells, Lesaffre Yeast Corporation, Milwaukee, WI) at 1.5 lb/ton. These supplements were fed alone or in combination. From d 0 to 7 experimental diets were a pelleted ration; and fed in a meal form from d 7 to 28, followed by a common corn-soybean meal-based diet without any antimicrobial, pharmacological trace minerals, essential oils, or yeast from d 28 to 42. Essential oils and yeast had no significant (P \u3e 0.05) effect on ADG. Feeding carbadox or pharmacological trace minerals (Cu and Zn) improved ADG (P \u3c 0.05) of nursery pigs compared to the non-medicated control diet. Carryover effects from any of these dietary treatments on subsequent growth performance were not significantly different (P \u3e 0.05). The use of pharmacological trace minerals Cu and Zn alone or in conjunction with either yeast or essential oil allows for competitive ADG and F/G with an antimicrobial agent, like carbadox. In summary, under the conditions of this experiment, pigs fed the combination of zinc and copper had similar growth performance to those fed carbadox (P \u3e 0.05)

The effects on boar reproductive efficiency of exposure to females during rearing

Thirty-two boars (16 littermates) were reared from 3½ to 5½ months in either an all-male group or with fence-line exposure to cycling sows and gilts. Exposure to females did not significantly increase testicle or accessory gland weights, sperm production, or libido score. Boars that displayed more sexual activity (mounts and sheath sniffs) from 3½ to 5½ months of age performed superiorly in mating tests at 5½ and 7½ months of age. Libido scores of littermate boars were very similar.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 13, 198

Comparison of spray-dried blood meal and fish by-products in the phase II starter pig diet

A total of 311 weanling pigs (initially 10.9 lb and 17 d of age) was used to compare fish by-products, spray-dried blood meal and combinations of spray-dried blood meal and fish by-products in the phase II (d 7 to 25) diet. Pigs were allotted by weight to one of five experimental treatments with 8 to 11 pigs/pen and seven replications. Pigs were placed on a common phase I diet (d 0 to 7 postweaning) that contained 7.5%spray-dried porcine plasma, 1.75% spray-dried blood meal, and 20% dried whey. The phase I diet was formulated to contain 1.5% lysine, .9% Ca, and .8% P. Pigs were then randomly assigned to one of five dietary treatments. All phase II diets (d 7 to 25 postweaning) contained 10% dried whey and were formulated to contain 1.25% lysine and .36% methionine. The control diet contained 2.5% spray-dried blood meal (SDBM) and 10% dried whey. Select menhaden fish meal (SMFM) and spray-dried fish hydrolysate (SDFH) replaced SDBM on an equal lysine basis at 5% and 4.8%, respectively, and 2.5% SMFM + 1.25% SDBM and 2.0% SDFH + 1.25% SDBM were used in combinations to form the other four dietary treatments. Average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and feed efficiency (F/G) were improved with the addition of SDBM in the fIrst week (d 7 to 14) of phase II. No differences were observed in ADG and ADFI for the overall phase II period. Pigs fed SDBM had poorer FIG (d 7 to 25) compared to pigs fed either SMFM or SDFH. However, SDBM was the most cost effective protein source in this experiment.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 19, 199

A combination of spray-dided porcine plasma and spray-dried blood meal optimizes starter pig performance

A total of 298 weanling pigs (initially 12.11b and 19 d of age) was used in a 25-\u3c1 growth trial to examine the influence of various combinations of spray-dried porcine plasma (SDPP) and spray-dried blood meal (SDBM) in a high nutrient density diet on starter pig performance. Pigs were allotted by weight to eight replicates of five treatments with seven to eight pigs per pen. Pigs were assigned to one of five dietary treatments with 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100% of the SDPP replaced with SDBM on an equal lysine basis. Therefore, diets contained 10, 7.5,5.0, 2.5, or 0% SDPP combined with 0, 1.63, 3.25, 4.8, or 6.5% SDBM, respectively. All phase I diets were formulated to contain 20% dried whey, 1.50% lysine, .81% isoleucine, and .37% methionine. These diets were fed from d 0 to 14 postweaning. On d 14, all pigs were switched to a common phase II diet containing 10% dried whey and 2.5% SDBM and was formulated to 1.25% lysine. Pigs were fed this diet for the remainder of the trial (d 14 to 25 postweaning). A quadratic response occurred for average daily gain and feed efficiency during phase I, with pigs fed a combination of spray-dried porcine plasma and spray-dried blood meal having superior performance compared to pigs fed diets containing only spray-dried plasma or spray-dried blood. Maximum performance was seen with the combination of 7.5% spray-dried porcine plasma and 1.63% spray-dried blood meal. Therefore, the results of this trial show that phase I diet cost can be reduced and performance improved by formulating the diet with a combination of spray-dried porcine plasma and spray-dried blood meal rather than spray-dried plasma alone.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 19, 199

Effects of branched chain amino acids on sow and litter performance

Three hundred-six sows were used to evaluate effects of the interrelationship among valine, isoleucine, and leucine on sow and litter performance. Eight dietary treatments were arranged as a 2x2x2 factorial with two levels of valine (.80 and 1.20%), isoleucine (.68 and 1.08%), and leucine (1.57 and 1.97%). Litter weaning weight, litter weight gain from d 2 to weaning, and sow backfat loss increased as dietary valine increased but were not affected by dietary isoleucine or leucine. Increasing dietary valine, isoleucine, or leucine did not affect milk fat, DM, CP, or lactose. These results confirm the importance of dietary valine for increased litter weaning weight, independent of either additional dietary isoleucine or leucine.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 19, 199

Effects of branched chain amino acids on sow and litter performance

Three hundred-six sows were used to evaluate effects of the interrelationship among valine, isoleucine, and leucine on sow and litter performance. Eight dietary treatments were arranged as a 2x2x2 factorial with two levels of valine (.80 and 1.20%), isoleucine (.68 and 1.08%), and leucine (1.57 and 1.97%). Litter weaning weight, litter weight gain from d 2 to weaning, and sow backfat loss increased as dietary valine increased but were not affected by dietary isoleucine or leucine. Increasing dietary valine, isoleucine, or leucine did not affect milk fat, DM, CP, or lactose. These results confirm the importance of dietary valine for increased litter weaning weight, independent of either additional dietary isoleucine or leucine.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 19, 199

Birth weight threshold for identifying piglets at-risk for preweaning mortality

Citation: Feldpausch, J. A., Jourquin, J., Bergstrom, J. R., Bokenkroger, C. D., Nelssen, J. L., Ritter, M. J., . . . Gonzalez, J. M. (2016). Birth weight threshold for identifying piglets at-risk for preweaning mortality. Journal of Animal Science, 94, 34-34. doi:10.2527/msasas2016-074The association of piglet birth weight (BtW) with early-life mortality risk is strongly supported by research of numerous studies reporting decreased preweaning piglet mortality as individual piglet BtW increases. The purpose of the present analysis was to identify a BtW threshold associated with reduced odds of preweaning survival. Observations from 2 studies with a total of 4068 piglets originating from 394 litters on 4 different commercial farms (3 European, 1 U.S.) were compiled for meta-analysis. Overall preweaning mortality rate across all farms was 12.2%. Data used in the analysis was weight of piglets within 24 h of birth and their corresponding survival outcome (dead or live) by weaning at 3 to 4 wk of age. A mixed effects logistic regression model was fit to estimate the probability of preweaning mortality based on BtW. A random effect of study was included to account for overall differences in mortality between the 2 studies. A piecewise linear predictor was selected to best represent the drastic decrease in preweaning mortality found as BtW increased in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 kg and the less extreme change in preweaning mortality observed for changes in weight above 1.0 kg. The model change point was determined by comparing model fit for BtW ranging from 0.5 kg to 2.0 kg based on maximizing the likelihood. A linear predictor equation was also generated to estimate the associated preweaning mortality probability associated with every 50 g of piglet BtW. Results indicated a 1.11 kg BtW change point in the log odds of piglet preweaning mortality, thus, implicating that every incremental change in BtW below 1.11 kg has a greater impact on mortality risk than incremental changes in BtW above 1.11 kg. Among the farms in this analysis, 14.9% of all piglets had BtW < 1.11 kg. These findings imply that interventions targeted at increasing the BtW of piglets having BtW less than 1.11 kg have tremendous potential to improve piglet preweaning survivability. A large percentage of the neonatal pig population falls below this weight threshold, and postnatal management strategies to decrease neonatal mortality should be directed toward these at-risk piglets

Effects of a high protein, whey protein concentrate and spray-dried animal plasma on growth performance of weanling pigs

A 35-d experiment was conducted to compare the effects of increasing spray-dried animal plasma and a high protein whey concentrate (73% CP) on starter pig performance. Spray-dried animal plasma and whey protein concentrate replaced dried skin1 milk on an equal lysine basis. Pigs fed increasing spray-dried animal plasma protein had increased ADG and ADFI from d 0 to 7 after weaning, but not for any other period in the study. Increasing whey protein concentrate had no effect on growth perforn1ance in relation to the pigs fed dried skim milk.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 20, 199

Nursing Reduction Strategies to Enhance Estrus in Lactating Sows and Effects on Performance of Pigs to Market Weight

A total of 135 sows (PIC 1050), ranging from parity 1 to 5 (2.6 ± 1.4), were used in 5 consecutive farrowing groups (February to August). The objectives were to evaluate different suckling reduction strategies for inducing lactational estrus and the effects on sow fertility and piglet growth. Litter size was equalized within parity (11.5 ± 1.1 piglets) at d 2 after farrowing. At d 18, sows were assigned to 1 of 5 treatments (n = 26 to 28) based on parity, farrowing date, and suckled litter size. Treatments were: 1) control; 2) sows that were paired within parity and placed in adjacent stalls, on d 18 all but 5 of the lightest piglets were weaned, and the remaining piglets were combined and alternated between sows at 12 h intervals until d 25 (ALT); 3) piglets separated from sows for 12 h/d from d 18 to 25 (SEP); 4) all but the 5 lightest piglets weaned on d 18, split-weaning (SW); and 5) piglets separated from sows for 24 h on d 18 (24HR). Controls were weaned at d 21 with other treatments weaned at d 25. All sows were provided nose-to-nose contact with a mature boar for 5 min/d from d 18 until weaning without removing them from farrowing crates. Creep feed and water were provided from d 14 to weaning. Offspring ADG was recorded to market for 2 farrowing groups. Sow backfat and BW losses during lactation were similar across treatments. Of the 106 sows subjected to reduced suckling, 80 (76%) expressed estrus during lactation. The SEP and 24HR sows were in estrus earlier (P \u3c 0.05) than SW sows. A tendency for reduced conception rate was observed in SEP and 24HR sows (P \u3c 0.10) versus control and SW sows. Creep feed disappearance was greatest (P \u3c 0.01) for SEP and 24HR litters, and pig ADG from d 18 to 32 was reduced (P \u3c 0.05). No negative effects (P \u3e 0.05) on final BW or carcass composition were observed for the reduced suckling treatments. Altered suckling treatments differed in their ability to induce lactational estrus and their impact on gain immediately post-weaning. However, no benefits were observed for pig growth to market weight

Effects of different zinc oxide sources on weanling pig growth performance

A total of 192 pigs (initially 13.61b and 18 d of age) were used in a 27-d growth assay to determine the effects of different ZnO sources on weanling pig growth performance. The four experimental treatments consisted of a control diet or three diets containing Zn from ZnO from one of three different sources. For the entire trial, no differences occurred in growth performance of pigs fed the different ZnO sources; however, all sources increased ADG and ADFI compared to pigs fed the control diet. Economics and ingredient availability should dictate which ZnO source to use in weanling pig diets to promote growth.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 18, 199