Iron prophylaxis in suckling piglets is usually administered as intramuscular or subcutaneous
injection. These formulations are medicinal products and therefore prescribable
in organic producing farms. Although iron dextran is not allowed through the EU
Regulation 834/07 there are no restrictions about medicinal products. Used as feed
additive iron dextran is prohibited. Oral administration of iron pastes is common in
some organic farms. This paper deals with oral administration of iron pastes containing
only approved feed additives like iron oxid or iron sulfate.
22 litters were included. Piglets were randomised and assigned to either control or
experimental group. With the exception of a commercial paste given two times (day 1
and 7) none of the experimental pastes could achieve satisfactory results. Either the
serum iron level decreased considerably or the piglets became pale and weight gain
decreased.
In summary under the restriction of the EU regulation 834/07 sufficient oral supplementation
with iron is not possible. The only acceptable possibility is an intramuscular
or subcutaneous administration of 200 mg of iron dextran at the second or third day of
life
