diarrhoea. A good diet can orchestrate this happening in a favourable direction; plasma protein can be an important ingredient for good starter diets. The digestive capacity of young piglets has not yet reached its full capacity at the time of weaning. Therefore highly digestible diets are required at this time. The necessity of a good diet is even more important because directly after weaning there is a period of transient villous atrophy and crypt hyperplasia. Post- weaning anorexia is the main etiological factor for this. In the epithelial cell of the small intestine the enzymes are present to digest disaccharides and peptides. When the villi get shorter the enzyme activity in the brush border is negatively affected. To prevent villous atrophy, anorexia should be prevented. A palatable feed is important and palatability can be steered with the ingredients. Plasma protein is such a palatable ingredient. The major disease in weaned piglet is post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD). The infection can be prevented when the integrity of the intestine is maintained. In addition the acidification in the stomach, which is the primary physiological defence mecha- nism to reduce the introduction of pathogens, has to be func- tional too. The low pH is also important to have the right envi- ronment for pepsin to exert its digestive function. If protein is not digested efficiently enough it will reach the hind gut, where it is fermented. The fermentation products of proteins have a negative effect on the gut health. To have a good drop of the gastric pH, the acid binding capaci- ty (ABC) of ingredients and diets should be taken into account when formulating nursery diets. The final feed buffering capacity value is heavily dependent on the sources of minerals and proteins. Cereals and cereal by-products have lower ABC-


values. As proteins have a relatively high buffering capacity, the crude protein level of feed has a significant effect on the diet ABC of feed. By using highly digestible proteins (like plasma and milk), and use of synthetic amino acids, lower protein lev- els in diets are needed. It is sufficient to have 17-18% highly digestible crude protein when the key essential amino acids are balanced. Plasma protein is a valuable ingredient for this pur- pose. To optimise the ABC-value one can optimise on the Ca and P levels, and critically look whether limestone (calcium carbonate) or calcium formate (as a Ca source) and monocalci- um phosphate or dicalcium phosphate (as a P source) is used. Adding organic acids in the feed will lower the buffering capacity value. Care has to be taken that the organic acid do not negatively affect the palatability of the feed.


Higher quality feeds during weaning The suckling and weaning phases are a period of life where high mortality is seen and where the health of the pig needs support. In this phase the smallest amounts of feed are con- sumed and therefore better quality products can be included in milk replacers and starter feeds. In this way feed can be a part of the strategy to support the health of piglets and reduce the use of antibiotics. For proteins in these formulations it means that they must be highly digestible and that inclusion levels are not too high. Plasma proteins have many benefits in the formulation of nursery diets and milk replacers, given their good palatability, their amino acid profile, the digestibility of their proteins, and last but not least their immunoglobulins that replace the IgGs normally provided with milk and colostrum.


PIGLETS - JULY/AUGUST 2016 25


A palatable feed is important for young piglets and palatability can be steered with appropriate ingredi- ents; plasma protein is one such ingredient.


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