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Influence of an Experimental Infection of Ascaris suum on Performance of Pigs

University of Georgia, Coastal Plain Station^,4,5,, Tifton 31793 and Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70803

Abstract

Thirty-two pigs (average 26.6 kg live weight) were individually housed and fed to study the effect of an infection of Ascaris suum (either 0, 600, 6,000 or 60,000 A. suum eggs/pig) on performance of growing-finishing pigs. Increasing the level of A. suum infection produced linear (P<.07) and quadratic (P<.09) effects on final weight, weight gain and average daily gain. Feed to gain ratio and number of A. suum worms recovered from the intestines of pigs at slaughter increased linearly (P<.01) with increasing doses of A. suum eggs. Pigs receiving 60,000 A. suum eggs were 13% less (P<.01) efficient than the noninfected controls. In each of two trials, eight crossbred barrows (15.7 kg in trial 1 and 16.1 kg body weight in trial 2) were examined for the effects of two levels of A. suum infection (0 and 20,000 eggs/pig) on digestibility coefficients for dry matter, crude protein and gross energy. The infection did not affect (P>.05) digestibility coefficients during the first two collection periods (d 6 through 10 and 19 through 23). However, digestion coefficients for dry matter, crude protein and gross energy obtained from the total collection period on d 33 through 37 postinfection were greater (P<.01) for control pigs than for pigs given 20,000 A. suum eggs each. Also, N retention was greater (P<.05) for control pigs than for infected pigs.

¹ Dept. of Anim. Sci., Univ. of Georgia, Coastal Plain Station, Tifton, GA 31793.

² Dept. of Vet. Microbiol. and Parasitol., School of Vet. Med., Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA 70803.

³ Present address: Insect Biol. and Population Management Res. Lab., USDA/ARS, Tifton, GA 31793.

⁴ Reference to a company or product name does not imply approval or recommendation of the product by the USDA to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.

⁵ Supported by State and Hatch funds allocated to the Georgia Agr. Exp. Sta.