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This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jas.2008-1098v1 87/4/1261    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wellock, I. J. Articles by Kyriazakis, I. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wellock, I. J. Articles by Kyriazakis, I.

The effect of weaner diet protein content and diet quality on the long-term performance of pigs to slaughter

I. J. Wellock^*, J. G. M. Houdijk^*, A. C. Miller^*, B. P. Gill and I. Kyriazakis^*,

^* Animal Nutrition and Health Department, SAC, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK , Meat and Livestock Commission, Winterhill House, Snowdon Drive, Milton Keynes, MK6 1AX, UK Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece

ian.wellock{at}abagri.com

Abstract

Short and long-term effects of manipulating dietary CP content and diet quality in weaner diets on health and performance of pigs were investigated in a 2 x 2 factorial combination of CP inclusion (high-CP, 230 g CP/kg vs. low-CP, 170 g CP/kg) and diet quality (high-quality, cooked cereals and animal protein vs. low-quality, raw cereals and plant protein). Diets were fed ad libitum for 14 d post-weaning to pigs weaned at 29.4 ± 3.1 d of age and 9.9 ± 1.0 kg BW. From d 14 to slaughter at 104 ± 3 kg, all pigs were fed the same series of standard commercial diets. There were 15 replicates per treatment in the weaner phase (< 30 kg) and 5 replicates per treatment in the grower-finisher phase (> 30 kg). High-quality diets promoted gut health as indicated by improved fecal Lactobacilli to coliform ratio (P = 0.002) and decreased fecal enterotoxigenic E. coli counts on d 11 post-weaning (P = 0.028), reducing the risk of post-weaning diarrhea and improving pig health from weaning to the end of the weaner phase. Reducing CP content had no effect on gut health. High-CP (P = 0.053) and high-quality (P = 0.025) diets independently increased ADG during the first 14 d post-weaning compared to low-CP and low-quality diets, respectively. There were no interactions between dietary CP content and quality on any of the response criteria investigated. Despite differences in the immediate post-weaning period, there was no effect of manipulating either diet quality or CP content for 2 wk post-weaning on lifetime performance with pigs reaching slaughter weight in 128 d ± 7. These results indicate that high-quality diets may protect pig gut health during the immediate post-weaning period. However, it may be possible to use less expensive, lower quality weaner diets without any adverse effects on long-term performance when weaning older, heavier pigs and where health status, environmental control, and stock management are all maintained to a high standard.

Key Words: diet quality • performance • pigs • protein • weanling pig