calculated the time needed for a return on investment (ROI) is two years on a farm with 1,000 sows. The investment includes purchasing a dedicated mixer to ferment piglet feed on the farm, which can cost upwards of € 3,000, depending on the equipment that is already on the farm. The fermented feed price varies, as is the case with the price of other pig feed.
Agrifirm not convinced Not all feed suppliers are convinced of the value of using fermented feed. For example, Royal Agrifirm Group does not supply fermented piglet feed, because they are not con- vinced of its added value. AgruniekRijnvallei, a Dutch feed company, supplies pig feed with a maximum of 5% added CCM. The amount of lactic acid the piglets consume is, how- ever, minimal. According to AgruniekRijnvallei’s product man- ager for pig feed Eelco van de Hoef, making sure piglets keep eating after weaning and preventing fluctuations in the feed intake is very important, as too much or too little feed intake is detrimental to piglets’ gut health.
Sound management is crucial Piglet breeding is increasingly in the spotlight. Litter sizes are
growing and legislation is becoming more stringent. Since mid-August, for example, piglet feed has to contain less cop- per. A ban on the use of zinc oxide, due to its negative impact on the environment, will come into effect in June, 2022 and antibiotics have been off the menu for many years. Leaving out these veterinary aids has to be compensated, e.g. with luxury feed, (organic) acids and more attentive management, for example, feeding pigs many times a day and making sure they are in a warm, dry barn after weaning. That is why ad- minstering fermented feed or fibre, to prevent it being di- gested too rapidly, is on pig farmers’ radars. However, when piglets refuse to eat the most luxury feed, nothing is gained regarding gut health. That’s why it’s important that manage- ment is perfect. Feeding needs to be hygienic, the barn’s cli- mate optimised and clean drinking water must be available at all times, etc. When all these conditions are met, the chanc- es are that fermented feed will have a positive effect. It can help to keep piglets’ guts healthy during the weaning period, as long as it;s good-quality feed. Liquid feed nutritionist Rob- in van den Berk from De Heus Animal Nutrition says: “Fer- mented feed is not a substitute for antibiotics.” So it can’t be the solution for all health problems in piglets.
▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 1, 2020
An important reason for giv- ing piglets fer- mented feed around weaning is the large amount of lactic acid bacteria that it contains.
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