Journal of Animal Science, Vol 79, Issue 4 934-941, Copyright © 2001 by American Society of Animal Science

EVALUATION STUDIES

Effect of pharmacological concentrations of zinc oxide with or without the inclusion of an antibacterial agent on nursery pig performance

G. M. Hill, D. C. Mahan, S. D. Carter, G. L. Cromwell, R. C. Ewan, R. L. Harrold, A. J. Lewis, P. S. Miller, G. C. Shurson and T. L. Veum
Dept. of Animal Sci., Michigan State Univ., East Lansing 48824-1225, USA. hillgre@pilot.msu.edu

A study involving nine research stations from the NCR-42 Swine Nutrition Committee used a total of 1,978 crossbred pigs to evaluate the effects of dietary ZnO concentrations with or without an antibacterial agent on postweaning pig performance. In Exp. 1, seven stations (IA, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, and OH) evaluated the efficacy of ZnO when fed to nursery pigs at 0, 500, 1,000, 2,000, or 3,000 mg Zn/kg for a 28-d postweaning period. A randomized complete block experiment was conducted in 24 replicates using a total of 1,060 pigs. Pigs were bled at the 28-d period and plasma was analyzed for Zn and Cu. Because two stations weaned pigs at < 15 d (six replicates) and five stations at > 20 d (18 replicates) of age, the two sets of data were analyzed separately. The early-weaned pig group had greater (P < 0.05) gains, feed intakes, and gain:feed ratios for the 28-d postweaning period as dietary ZnO concentration increased. Later-weaned pigs also had increased (P < 0.01) gains and feed intakes as the dietary ZnO concentration increased. Responses for both weanling pig groups seemed to reach a plateau at 2,000 mg Zn/kg. Plasma Zn concentrations quadratically increased (P < 0.01) and plasma Cu concentrations quadratically decreased (P < 0.01) when ZnO concentrations were > 1,000 mg Zn/kg. Experiment 2 was conducted at seven stations (KY, MI, MO, NE, ND, OH, and OK) and evaluated the efficacy of an antibacterial agent (carbadox) in combination with added ZnO. The experiment was a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design conducted in a total of 20 replicates. Carbadox was added at 0 or 55 mg/kg diet, and ZnO was added at 0, 1,500, or 3,000 mg Zn/ kg. A total of 918 pigs were weaned at an average 19.7 d of age. For the 28-d postweaning period, gains (P < 0.01), feed intakes (P < 0.05), and gain:feed ratios (P < 0.05) increased when dietary ZnO concentrations increased and when carbadox was added. These responses occurred in an additive manner. The results of these studies suggest that supplemental ZnO at 1,500 to 2,000 mg Zn/kg Zn improved postweaning pig performance, and its combination with an antibacterial agent resulted in additional performance improvements.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. C. Walsh, D. M. Sholly, R. B. Hinson, K. L. Saddoris, A. L. Sutton, J. S. Radcliffe, R. Odgaard, J. Murphy, and B. T. Richert Effects of water and diet acidification with and without antibiotics on weanling pig growth and microbial shedding J Anim Sci, July 1, 2007; 85(7): 1799 - 1808. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Rincker, G. M. Hill, J. E. Link, A. M. Meyer, and J. E. Rowntree Effects of dietary zinc and iron supplementation on mineral excretion, body composition, and mineral status of nursery pigs J Anim Sci, December 1, 2005; 83(12): 2762 - 2774. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. E. Buff, D. W. Bollinger, M. R. Ellersieck, W. A. Brommelsiek, and T. L. Veum Comparison of growth performance and zinc absorption, retention, and excretion in weanling pigs fed diets supplemented with zinc-polysaccharide or zinc oxide J Anim Sci, October 1, 2005; 83(10): 2380 - 2386. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. R. Hollis, S. D. Carter, T. R. Cline, T. D. Crenshaw, G. L. Cromwell, G. M. Hill, S. W. Kim, A. J. Lewis, D. C. Mahan, P. S. Miller, et al. Effects of replacing pharmacological levels of dietary zinc oxide with lower dietary levels of various organic zinc sources for weanling pigs J Anim Sci, September 1, 2005; 83(9): 2123 - 2129. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. Hojberg, N. Canibe, H. D. Poulsen, M. S. Hedemann, and B. B. Jensen Influence of Dietary Zinc Oxide and Copper Sulfate on the Gastrointestinal Ecosystem in Newly Weaned Piglets Appl. Envir. Microbiol., May 1, 2005; 71(5): 2267 - 2277. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. R. Augspurger, J. D. Spencer, D. M. Webel, and D. H. Baker Pharmacological zinc levels reduce the phosphorus-releasing efficacy of phytase in young pigs and chickens J Anim Sci, June 1, 2004; 82(6): 1732 - 1739. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. S. Carlson, C. A. Boren, C. Wu, C. E. Huntington, D. W. Bollinger, and T. L. Veum Evaluation of various inclusion rates of organic zinc either as polysaccharide or proteinate complex on the growth performance, plasma, and excretion of nursery pigs J Anim Sci, May 1, 2004; 82(5): 1359 - 1366. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Roselli, A. Finamore, I. Garaguso, M. S. Britti, and E. Mengheri Zinc Oxide Protects Cultured Enterocytes from the Damage Induced by Escherichia coli J. Nutr., December 1, 2003; 133(12): 4077 - 4082. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Owusu-Asiedu, C. M. Nyachoti, and R. R. Marquardt Response of early-weaned pigs to an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (K88) challenge when fed diets containing spray-dried porcine plasma or pea protein isolate plus egg yolk antibody, zinc oxide, fumaric acid, or antibiotic J Anim Sci, July 1, 2003; 81(7): 1790 - 1798. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]