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ANIMAL NUTRITION |
* Department of Animal Sciences, and
and
Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Missouri, Columbia 65211-5300
Abstract
Two 28-d experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of low dietary concentrations of Cu as Cu-proteinate compared with 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 with growth performance, plasma Cu concentrations, and Cu balance of weanling swine as the criteria. In the production study (Exp. 1), 240 crossbred pigs that averaged 19.8 d of age and 6.31 kg BW initially were group-fed (two or three pigs per pen) the basal diets (Phase 1: d 0 to 14 and Phase 2: d 14 to 28) supplemented with 0 (control), 25, 50, 100, or 200 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate, or 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 (as-fed basis). The basal diets contained 16.5 ppm Cu supplied as CuSO4 before supplementation with Cu-proteinate or 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4. There were quadratic responses (P 
0.05) in ADFI and ADG for wk 1, Phases 1 and 2, and overall because ADFI was higher for pigs fed 25 or 50 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate, and ADG increased with increasing Cu-proteinate up to 50 ppm Cu. The Cu-proteinate treatment groups combined had a higher (P 0.05) Phase 2 and overall ADFI and ADG than the CuSO4 group. In the mineral balance study (Exp. 2), 20 crossbred barrows that averaged 35 d of age and 11.2 kg/BW initially were placed in individual metabolism pens with total urine and fecal grab sample collections on d 22 to 26. Treatments were the basal Phase 2 diet supplemented with 0, 50, or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate, or 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 (as-fed basis). Treatments did not differ in growth performance criteria. There were linear increases (P < 0.001) in Cu absorption, retention, and excretion (milligrams per day) with increasing Cu-proteinate. Pigs fed 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate absorbed and retained more Cu and excreted less Cu (mg/d, P 0.003) than pigs fed 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4. Plasma Cu concentrations increased linearly (P = 0.06) with increasing Cu-proteinate. In conclusion, weanling pig growth performance was increased by 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate in our production Exp. 1, but not in our balance Exp. 2, compared with 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4. However, 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate increased Cu absorption and retention, and decreased Cu excretion 77 and 61%, respectively, compared with 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4.
Key Words: Balance • Copper • Growth • Pigs • Swine
Introduction
It is well documented that the dietary supplementation of 250 ppm Cu from CuSO4 increases daily feed consumption, daily gain, and feed efficiency in weanling pigs (Cromwell et al., 1989
; Dove, 1993; Hill et al., 2000). This growth performance response with CuSO4 added to the weanling pig response obtained with antibiotics and/or chemotherapeutics (Stahly et al., 1980; Roof and Mahan, 1982; Edmonds et al., 1985). The growth performance response of weanling pigs to CuSO4 was decreased when the concentration of Cu was lowered from 200 or 250 ppm to 100 or 125 ppm, respectively, with about 65 to 75% of the effective growth performance response in several experiments (Hagen et al., 1987; Cromwell et al., 1989; Apgar et al., 1995) and equivalent responses in a smaller number of experiments (Stahly et al., 1980; Coffey et al., 1994). Other sources of inorganic Cu that enhance growth performance of weanling pigs include copper carbonate (Bunch et al., 1965) and tribasic copper chloride (Cromwell et al., 1998).
An undesirable consequence of feeding pharmacological concentrations of CuSO4 for growth promotion is the high fecal excretion of Cu, which increased about 14-fold with the addition of 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 compared with the basal diet (Roof and Mahan, 1982). Farm research found that an organic source of Cu, a Cu-proteinate, fed at 40 ppm Cu maintained growth performance of growing pigs and greatly decreased Cu excretion in manure compared with 150 ppm Cu as CuSO4 (Smits and Henman, 2000). The objectives of these two experiments were to investigate whether feeding lower concentrations of Cu as Cu-proteinate to weanling pigs would maintain growth performance and reduce Cu excretion in manure compared with feeding 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4.
Materials and Methods
These experiments were approved by the University of Missouri Animal Care and Use Committee.
Experiment 1: Growth Performance Experiment
Animals and Housing.
An experiment consisting of two trials using a total of 240 crossbred pigs (Yorkshire-Landrace-Duroc) was conducted to evaluate the growth response of feeding lower concentrations of an organic source of Cu from Cu-proteinate (Bioplex Cu, Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY) compared with 250 ppm inorganic Cu from CuSO4 (pentahydrate). There were 126 pigs with seven replications (three pigs/pen) in Trial 1 and 114 pigs with eight replications (two pigs/pen in five replications and three pigs/pen in three replications) in Trial 2. Pigs were weaned at an average of 19.8 ± 2.0 d of age and 6.31 ± 0.2 kg BW and allotted to treatments for the 28-d experiment by litter and weight with sex ratio equalized within weight blocks. Pigs were housed in an environmentally regulated nursery building equipped with pen dividers made from plastic boards that allowed visual contact with adjoining pens, and woven wire flooring over a flush system. Each pen (0.6 x 1.2 m) contained a one-hole stainless steel self-feeder and a stainless steel nipple waterer. Pigs were allowed ad libitum access to feed and water at all times. Temperature during wk 1 was maintained at 30 ± 1°C by use of thermostatically controlled heaters and exhaust fans and was lowered 1.5°C each week.
Dietary Treatments.
Copper-proteinate (11.0% Cu, 8.5% H2O) or CuSO4 (25.0% Cu) replaced corn in the basal Phase 1 (d 0 to 14) and Phase 2 (d 14 to 28) diets (Table 1) to create six dietary treatments. The basal Phase 1 and Phase 2 diets contained a trace mineral premix that provided 16.5 ppm Cu as CuSO4. Diet 1 was the basal Phase 1 or Phase 2 diet with 0 ppm added Cu-proteinate, and served as the control treatment. Diets 2, 3, 4, and 5 consisted of the basal diet plus 25, 50, 100, or 200 ppm, respectively, Cu from Cu-proteinate. Diet 6 was the basal diet plus 250 ppm Cu from CuSO4. Diet composition, treatments, and feeding management were the same for both trials. The diets were fed in meal form, contained Carbadox (55 ppm), and met or exceeded all nutrient requirements for swine (NRC, 1998).
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) on triplicate samples of each dietary treatment from Phases 1 and 2 with a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Spector AA-30, Varian Analytical Instruments, San Fernando, CA). Before analysis, samples were digested using a mixture of nitric and perchloric acid (AOAC, 1990) and diluted as required with a mixture of 2.0% nitric acid and 3.0% perchloric acid. Analyzed concentrations of Cu and Zn in the dietary treatments were within 5% of calculated values after adjustment for the Cu and Zn in the basal diets (Table 1
).
Measurements.
Pigs were weighed and feed consumption was measured on d 7, 14, 21, and 28 of the experiment to determine ADG, ADFI, and gain:feed (G:F) ratio. On the last day of the experiment (d 28), 10 mL of blood was collected from the anterior vena cava of each pig into evacuated tubes, containing 143 units of sodium heparin per tube, and placed on ice. Blood samples were immediately centrifuged (Beckman GPR centrifuge, Beckman Instruments, Inc., Fullerton, CA) at 3,000 x g for 10 min at 5°C. Plasma was stored at -20°C in 5-mL polypropylene vials. The plasma samples were thawed and deproteinated with 10.0% trichloroacetic acid before analysis for Cu with a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer as described above for the diets.
Experiment 2: Cu Balance Experiment
Animals and Housing.
Crossbred (Yorkshire-Landrace-Duroc) pigs were weaned at 21 ± 1 d of age and housed in a confinement nursery for 2 wk before barrows were selected for this 28-d experiment. Twenty barrows averaging 35 ± 1 d of age and 11.22 ± 0.15 kg BW were allotted to one of four treatments by ancestry and BW. Pigs were placed in individual elevated solid-sided stainless steel metabolism crates (0.9 m2/pig) equipped with stainless steel woven wire floors, feeders, and nipple drinkers. Temperature was maintained at 25 ± 1°C during wk 1 with thermostatically controlled heaters and exhaust fans, and lowered 1°C each week. Light was provided from 0600 to 2000. Pigs were allowed ad libitum access to feed and water at all times.
Dietary Treatments.
After weaning, all pigs were acclimated for 2 wk by feeding a standard Phase 1 nursery diet that contained 22.5% CP, 1.60% total lysine, 0.45% methionine, and met or exceeded other nutrient requirements (NRC, 1998). The basal Phase 2 diet used in Exp. 1 (Table 1) was used to create four dietary treatments for this 28-d experiment. The basal diet contained a trace mineral premix that provided 16.5 ppm Cu as CuSO4. Diet 1 was the basal diet with 0 ppm Cu from Cu-proteinate and served as the control treatment. Diets 2 and 3 respectively, were the basal diet plus 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate (Bioplex Cu, Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY). Diet 4 was the basal diet plus 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4. All diets were fed in meal form.
Measurements.
Pigs were weighed at the beginning and end (d 0 and 28) of the experiment. Individual feed consumption was determined weekly and on d 22 to 26 in order to determine Cu, Zn, and Fe balance. On d 1 and 27, individual blood samples were collected from the anterior vena cava of all pigs into 10-mL evacuated tubes containing 143 units of sodium heparin per tube, and placed on ice. Blood samples were immediately centrifuged, and the plasma stored and analyzed for Cu and Zn concentrations on a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer as described for Exp. 1. Diets contained 0.05% chromic oxide at the expense of corn as an indigestible indicator. Fecal grab samples (approximately 100 g DM) and total urine collections were made twice daily from d 22 to 26. Fecal samples were stored in plastic freezer bags. Urine was collected in plastic pails containing 40 mL of 6 N HCl. Total urine volume was recorded, and 10% was saved in 1-L screw-cap plastic bottles. Fecal and urine samples were immediately frozen at -20°C until analyzed. The 5-d fecal collections for individual pigs were thawed, pooled, and air-dried at 50°C. The dried fecal samples and samples of each diet were ground to pass a 1-mm screen before digestion and analysis in triplicate for Cu, Zn, Fe, and Cr as described for Cu and Zn in Exp. 1.
The 5-d urine collections for individual pigs were thawed, pooled, mixed, and subsampled before analysis for Cu, Zn, Fe, and Cr. Urine was analyzed for Cr to test for feed and/or fecal contamination of the urine collections. Each metabolism pen and the fecal and urine collection equipment were thoroughly washed immediately after collection twice daily. Only trace amounts of Cr ( 1 ppm) were detected in the urine samples, indicating that fecal contamination of urine was minimal.
Statistical Analysis
Experiment 1.
For Exp. 1, Trials 1 and 2 were tested for compatibility before combining the data for statistical analyses. Data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design ANOVA (Snedecor and Cochran, 1989) using the statistical procedures of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). Pens of pigs were the experimental units. The planned single-df tests included the linear and quadratic effects of Cu-proteinate (0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate), the control vs. CuSO4 (250 ppm Cu), CuSO4 vs. the 25, 50, and 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate treatments combined, and CuSO4 vs. the 200 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate treatment. In selecting our planned treatment comparisons, the 200 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate treatment was considered to be an excessive level of organic Cu. Therefore, 200 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate was compared individually with CuSO4 rather than in combination with the other Cu-proteinate treatments.
Experiment 2.
Data were analyzed as a completely random design ANOVA (Snedecor and Cochran, 1989) using the statistical procedures of SAS with individual pigs as the experimental units. The planned single-df tests included the linear and quadratic effects of Cu-proteinate (0, 50, and 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate), CuSO4 vs. the control, CuSO4 vs. 50 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate, and CuSO4 vs. 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate. Significance for both experiments was reported at P 0.05, with a trend between P 
0.06 and P 0.10.
Results
Experiment 1
There were quadratic responses (P 0.05) in ADFI and ADG for wk 1, Phases 1 and 2, and overall (Table 2) because ADFI was higher for pigs fed 25 or 50 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate, and ADG increased with increasing Cu-proteinate up to 50 ppm Cu, with no further increases in ADG with 100 or 200 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate. The 25, 50, and 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate groups combined had a higher (P 0.05) ADG and ADFI for Phase 2 and overall than did the 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 treatment group. However, the CuSO4 group had a higher (P 0.05) ADG and ADFI for wk 1, and a higher (P = 0.09) ADFI for Phase 1 than the control group (Table 2). There were no differences (P 0.5) between pigs fed CuSO4 or 200 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate for any of the growth performance criteria measured. The treatment responses for pig BW coincide statistically with those described above for ADG.
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0.4) for gain:feed ratio on wk 1, Phase 1, Phase 2, or overall (Table 2), or for plasma Cu concentrations on d 28 (data not shown). The overall plasma Cu experimental mean ± SE was 2.26 ± 0.11 mg/L.
Experiment 2
Growth Performance and Plasma Concentrations of Cu and Zn.
There were no planned treatment comparison responses for ADG, ADFI, or gain:feed ratio (Table 3). However, there was a linear increase (P = 0.06) in plasma Cu concentration with increasing dietary Cu as Cu-proteinate on d 27. Plasma Cu concentrations on d 27 for pigs fed diets containing CuSO4 or Cu-proteinate (50 or 100 ppm Cu) were not different. Plasma Cu and Zn concentrations on d 0, and plasma Zn concentrations on d 27 were not different for any Cu treatment comparisons (data not provided), with experimental means ± SE (mg/L) of 1.86 ± 0.07, 1.64 ± 0.07, and 1.20 ± 0.09, respectively.
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. The analyzed values for the diets were used to determine the apparent balance data presented in Table 4. There were linear increases (P < 0.001) in fecal and urinary Cu excretion, and Cu absorption and retention (milligrams per day) with increasing dietary concentration of Cu-proteinate (Table 4), with pigs fed 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate having the highest absorption and retention of Cu. As expected, pigs fed the diet containing 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 had higher (mg/d, P 0.001) fecal Cu excretion, and fecal plus urinary Cu excretion than pigs fed the control diet or the diets containing 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate. However, pigs fed 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate absorbed and retained more Cu (mg/d, P 0.003) than pigs fed 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4. Pigs fed 50 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate and pigs fed 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 were not different (P = 0.8) in Cu absorption and retention (milligrams per day).
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0.001) percentages of Cu absorption and retention than pigs fed the control or Cu-proteinate treatments (Table 4). Pigs fed 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 also had a higher (P < 0.001) percentage of fecal plus urinary Cu excretion compared with the control or the Cu-proteinate treatments.
Zinc Balance.
There were no treatment comparison differences (P 0.5) for Zn intake because all diets were supplemented with 165 ppm Zn as ZnSO4 (Table 4). However, pigs fed 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 had more fecal Zn (mg/d, P = 0.05) than the control group (Table 4). There were quadratic responses (P 0.001) for Zn absorption and retention (milligrams per day and percentage) because pigs fed the control diet absorbed and retained more Zn than pigs fed the diets containing 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate or 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4. Likewise, pigs fed 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate absorbed and retained (milligrams per day and percentage) more Zn (P 0.05) than pigs fed 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4. The percentage of Zn excretion was higher (P 0.03) for pigs fed the diet with CuSO4 compared with pigs fed the Cu-proteinate diets or the control diet.
Iron Balance.
There were no planned treatment comparison differences for Fe balance criteria. Therefore, tabular data are not presented. The experimental means ± SE for Fe intake, fecal excretion, urinary excretion, absorption, and retention (milligrams per day), respectively, were 668 ± 39, 522 ± 30, 5 ± 1, 146 ± 11, and 141 ± 10.
Discussion
In these experiments, our CuSO4 treatment provided 250 ppm Cu. A summary of 17 experiments by Braude (1967) found that 250 ppm Cu was more effective than 125 ppm Cu for increasing ADG and gain:feed ratio in growing swine. The preferred compound was CuSO4 because the bitter taste of CuSO4 will help prevent overconsumption if feed mixing errors result in dietary Cu levels well in excess of 250 ppm. Subsequent experiments with weanling pigs found that 200 or 250 ppm Cu are more effective for growth promotion than 100 or 125 ppm Cu provided as CuSO4 (Hagen et al., 1987; Cromwell et al., 1989; Apgar et al., 1995).
In our growth performance Exp. 1, the higher (P 0.05) ADG for pigs fed 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate compared with pigs fed the control diet was consistent through Phase 1, Phase 2, and overall (d 0 to 28). In addition, pigs fed the diets containing Cu-proteinate (25, 50, and 100 ppm Cu) had higher (P 0.05) ADG and ADFI compared with pigs fed the diets containing 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 during Phase 2 or overall. Close and Jacques (1998) found that nursery pig performance was increased (P < 0.07) when 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate replaced 100 ppm Cu as CuSO4 in a diet without any antibiotics. In addition, a large commercial swine farm in Australia reported that the addition of 40 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate increased (P = 0.08) ADG of growing swine by increasing (P = 0.04) ADFI (Smits and Henman, 2000). Other experiments have shown that a Cu-lysine complex is either as effective, or more effective, than CuSO4 in increasing ADFI and ADG when both sources were fed at the same Cu concentration of 100 or 200 ppm Cu (Coffey et al., 1994; Apgar et al., 1995). However, chelated inorganic or organic sources of Cu (Cu-EDTA or Cu-polysaccharide, respectively) that provided 125 ppm Cu were not more effective than CuSO4 in improving nursery pig growth performance (Stansbury et al., 1990). Using a different approach in which organic sources of trace minerals replaced a percentage of the inorganic trace mineral sources in a standard swine trace mineral premix, Veum et al. (1995) found that partial replacement (15 to 36%) of the inorganic (sulfate) sources of Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn in a standard swine trace mineral premix with proteinate sources of these elements improved (P 0.04) Phase 1 and overall ADG and gain:feed ratio of swine in the nursery.
The mechanism of action of pharmacological concentrations of Cu in swine diets is unknown (Apgar et al., 1995; Hill et al., 2000). However, one proposed mechanism is that high Cu has an "antibiotic-like effect" on the microflora in the intestinal tract (Braude, 1967; Cromwell, 2001). This may explain why the growth response to high Cu as CuSO4, similar to feeding antibiotics for growth promotion, does not occur 100% of the time. Stansbury et al. (1990) conducted three experiments to evaluate growth promotional levels of CuSO4 for weanling swine and found no increases in ADFI or ADG for pigs fed 125 or 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 in any of the experiments. The only response in feed efficiency was an increase in gain:feed ratio in one experiment for pigs fed 250 ppm Cu compared with 62.5 or 125 ppm Cu as CuSO4. Smith et al. (1997) also found that 28-d growth performance of weanling swine fed 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 on a commercial farm did not differ from controls in one experiment.
Copper, either as CuSO4 or Cu-proteinate, did not affect growth performance in the mineral balance study (Exp. 2). The pigs used in our balance experiment were 2 wk older (acclimated for 2 wk) initially, and housed individually in solid-sided metabolism crates that prevented visual contact with other pigs compared with the group-fed pigs in our production experiment that had visual contact with adjoining pens. Feed consumption is increased on a short-term basis when group-fed pigs in adjoining pens can see each other (Brumm and Gonyou, 2001). Feed intake is increased because the social facilitation stimulates more frequent synchronized or simultaneous eating by pigs in the adjoining pens. However, the balance data reported for Exp. 2 is relevant because it represents what occurs when feeding these concentrations of Cu regardless of whether a growth performance response occurs or not.
Our Cu apparent balance experiment found that pigs fed the basal diet supplemented with 50 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate absorbed and retained about the same amount (milligrams per day) of Cu as pigs fed the basal diet supplemented with 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4, and pigs fed the basal diet supplemented with 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate absorbed and retained more Cu than the other treatments (Table 4). The pigs fed 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 in our apparent balance experiment retained less Cu (milligrams per day) than the weanling pigs in the experiment conducted by Roof and Mahan (1982). However, the pigs fed CuSO4 in our experiment retained 2.3 times more Cu per day than our control group. The basal (control) diet was supplemented with a standard swine trace mineral premix that provided 16.5 ppm Cu as CuSO4, exceeding the NRC (1998) Cu requirement for swine. The significance of these apparent balance responses is that the fecal plus urinary Cu excretion was 75.4 or 127.6 mg/d, respectively, for the 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate diets, and 329.8 mg/d for the 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 diet. This resulted in 77 or 61% reductions, respectively, in Cu excretion by feeding 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate compared with 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4. A commercial farm in Australia also found that supplementation of the control diet that contained 20 ppm Cu as CuSO4 with 40 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate or 150 ppm Cu as CuSO4 resulted in similar increases in grower pig growth performance (Smits and Henman, 2000), although fecal Cu excretion was significantly reduced by feeding Cu-proteinate compared with CuSO4. The increase in Cu retention with increasing dietary Cu levels in the present experiment supports earlier work with weanling pigs fed 250 ppm Cu compared with pigs fed the control diet (Roof and Mahan, 1982).
The linear increase in plasma Cu concentration on d 27 of our balance experiment with increasing dietary Cu-proteinate is in agreement with Apgar et al. (1995), in whose study serum Cu concentrations of weanling swine increased with increasing dietary levels of CuSO4 or Cu-lysine. However, there were no planned Cu treatment responses for plasma Cu concentrations on d 28 of our growth performance experiment. Roof and Mahan (1982) found that plasma Cu concentrations in weanling swine were not increased by adding dietary Cu as CuSO4 at 250 ppm or less compared with control pigs, whereas increasing the dietary Cu to 375 or 500 ppm as CuSO4 elevated the plasma Cu concentrations. Our plasma Cu concentrations are within the range of published values for weanling swine (Dale et al., 1973; Roof and Mahan, 1982; Apgar et al., 1995). The lack of a high dietary Cu treatment effect on plasma Zn concentrations in the present experiment is in agreement with the data of Roof and Mahan (1982) where dietary Cu had no effect on plasma Zn concentrations.
The higher absorption and retention of Zn and the lower excretion of Zn by pigs fed the control diet compared with pigs fed the diets containing Cu-proteinate or CuSO4 in the present experiment was not observed by Apgar and Kornegay (1996) when growing pigs were fed 200 ppm Cu as Cu-lysine or CuSO4. However, the higher level of Zn in their control diet (300 ppm) compared with our control diet (165 ppm) may have prevented a decrease in Zn absorption in their experiment. The lack of any dietary Cu effect on Fe balance in the present experiment is in agreement with the results reported for growing pigs by Apgar and Kornegay (1996).
In conclusion, replacing the high inorganic Cu supplementation of 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 in a swine nursery diet with a lower concentration of an organic Cu source (50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate) increased growth performance of 6-kg pigs housed in group pens in the production experiment but not in 11-kg pigs housed individually in metabolism crates for the balance experiment. In the balance experiment, feeding 50 or 100 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate reduced Cu excretion in swine waste by 77 or 61%, respectively, compared with feeding 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4.
Implications
Supplementation of practical Phase 1 and Phase 2 nursery diets with 50 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate maintained the growth performance of 6-kg weanling swine housed in group pens in the production experiment but not in 11-kg swine housed individually in metabolism crates for the balance experiment. In the balance experiment, 50 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate decreased Cu excretion in swine waste by 77% compared with feeding 250 ppm Cu as CuSO4 for growth promotion. This decrease in Cu excretion would contribute to the sustainability of swine production when restrictions on nutrient pollution are increased and/or the feeding of subtherapeutic levels of antibiotics for growth promotion is banned.
Footnotes
1 Supported in part by the Missouri Agric. Exp. Stn. and Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY. We thank A. Tsunoda and J. E. Smith for their assistance in animal care and data collection. 
2 Correspondence: 112 Animal Sciences Center (phone: 573-882-4331; fax: 573-882-6827; e-mail: veumt{at}missouri.edu).
Received for publication July 15, 2003. Accepted for publication November 25, 2003.
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