Figure 2 - Daily feed intake (g of dry matter) per day in the pre-weaning phase.
5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4
0
0123456789 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Age (days)
LifeStart Control
Mikiwean BabyMilk Milkiwean Precoce
Figure 3 – Protein growth rate for the LifeStart and standard feeding programme. 180
LifeStart 160 Standard
140
120
100
The changing swine market deserves a review of the idea of only using supplementary feeding in early life for ‘problematic’ litters.
07 14 21 28 35 42 49 (Days)
56 63 70 77 84 91 98
milk replacer (Milkiwean BabyMilk) next to sow milk up to 14 days of age and 5 kg of a premium pre-starter diet. The addi- tional 25 litters were fed a standard feeding programme which consisted of a dry creep feed (Milkiwean Precoce) up to day 24 and 2.5 kg of a premium pre-starter diet. The total amount of feed offered between three and seven weeks of age was in both groups 10 kg. From seven weeks of age, commercial diets were provided ad libitum to all pigs until they reached slaughter weight (115 kg), following current farm practice.
Coping with the weaning challenge When focusing on the pre-weaning phase, a clear preference in intake for the milk replacer and creep feed combination in terms of feed intake of the piglets was observed (Figure 2). Providing supplemental milk and creep feed does not neces- sarily lead to a higher weaning weight. The main benefits arise from a better development of the gut pre-weaning, which helps the pig to cope with the stressful weaning chal- lenge and reduces post-weaning diarrhoea. This is obtained by stimulating the development of the good bacteria in the intestines and reducing the time of starvation in the immedi- ate period post-weaning.
By investing in higher amounts of pre-starter diet in the imme- diate post-weaning period (up to six weeks of age) higher feed intake is achieved. From previous studies it is known that pre- mium (high quality) pre-starter diets help the piglets cope bet- ter with disease pressure in the immediate post-weaning phase but also, stabilise the microbiota of the gut facilitating the nutrient absorption and protein deposition rather than spend- ing higher amounts of energy fighting disease pressure (Figure 3). An added benefit of a stable microbiota is the reduction of diarrhoea in the immediate post-weaning period and the reduction in the second post-weaning dip. One of the most tangible parameters in terms of feed intake and utilisation is feed conversion ratio. In this trial, a better feed conversion rate in the LifeStart programme during the grower phase was observed. In the fattening phase better growth was observed, which was translated into 2.5 kg higher growth for the LifeStart group and when taking into considera- tion the investment on the milk replacer and the extra 2.5 kg of feed, there was an economic benefit of this investment all the way to market weight. In the Belgian circumstances, this investment into the programme translated into a €0.70 benefit per pig sold.
PIGLETS - JULY/AUGUST 2016 21
PHOTO: TROUW NUTRITION Protein growth rate Daily feedintake (g DM/day)
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