PARTNER FEATURE ▶▶▶
Yeast solutions working together to replace ZnO
It is often said that the solution to getting piglets through weaning without zinc oxide will be a multifactorial approach. Even within piglet nutrition, several strategies can work in complement. A combination of yeast additives can be a powerful tool, as research shows that they reinforce each other.
BY WOUTER DE BRUIN, WESTERN EUROPE MANAGER SWINE, PHILEO BY LESAFFRE W nutrition.
Understanding why ZnO has played such a major role in weaning processes in recent years and addressing the chal- lenge of finding fresh and healthy alternatives is helping many farmers to achieve results which are every bit as good as in the past and, in some cases, markedly better. The fact that EU legislation has closed off any prospect of a return to ZnO-based weaning has also ensured that producers are moving forward from this point rather than being tempted to keep a treatment safety net in reserve.
Embracing the world without ZnO Embracing the new world of ZnO-free farming begins with a thorough understanding of the microbiome development of young piglets and how this affects their ability to cope with the stress of changing diets and weaning. Left alone, bacteria in the gut of young piglets compete for available space and nutrients, leading to a range of digestive disorders such as diarrhoea. That sets off a chain reaction which depresses feed intake, ultimately causing poor health and negative performance. Piglets are protected immediately after birth by immunity based on colostrum provided by the sow. This declines over time, however, often leaving piglets with an immunity gap at about three to four weeks of age, exactly the time when many are weaned. In the past, such factors were countered by including ZnO in piglet diets, an approach designed to create robust gut
46 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 38, No. 3, 2022
eaning pigs without using zinc oxide (ZnO) is already starting to yield positive benefits for producers in response to a renewed on-farm commitment to stock management and
condition. The task now is to infuse the guts of young piglets with high concentrations of beneficial bacteria, thereby re- ducing their sensitivity to stress and digestive disorders, and to do so in a thoroughly natural and non-medicated manner. Before progressing deeper into the care and protection of the gut status of young piglets, it is worth noting that creating a healthy microbial balance in piglets starts in the sow. Influ- encing a sow’s microbiome has been shown to have a strong impact on the microbial composition of her offspring. In addition to paying increased attention to the microbiome of young piglets, it is also important to reduce pathogen pressures within weaners. The spreading of pathogens through a herd, by way of bacterial shedding, can easily affect piglet health and performance. The lowering of pathogen pressure, however, results in fewer health problems and better performance. Enhancing feed intake in piglets is also important as a means of stimulating good gut development and increasing their life-time performance.
Yeast-based solutions To achieve strong health and growth improvements without relying on the previous shortcut use of ZnO, researchers at Phileo by Lesaffre have explored the impact of supplementing piglet diets with several yeast-based solutions. Their work has focused specifically on a yeast probiotic (Actisaf), a yeast post- biotic (Safmannan) and a pure yeast extract (Prosaf). Used both separately and in combination, these three supplements have helped to deliver performance levels in piglets which compare positively with results previously achieved in response to high ZnO usage. In addition, no extra antibiotics or other treatments have been required during the rearing period.
Combined alternative supplement Starting with the yeast probiotic and the yeast postbiotic, a synthesis of results from three Europe-based trials showed virtually equal average daily gain (ADG) results between pig- lets on a ZnO regime and those given the two yeasts as a combined alternative supplement. After a six-week trial carried out in Denmark in 2020, differ- ences in the development of ADG were observed; however, producers may need to be patient with the new diet ap- proach. For the first two weeks after weaning, the ZnO group
PHOTO: VAN ASSENDELFT
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