Figure 2 - Influence of oxidative stress and natural anti-oxidants on the intestinal permeability.
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solid feed is an excellent way of preparing it for weaning. Middelkoop et al., indicated that getting used to solid feed in a playful way will ‘train the brain’. The author described it as: “training for the unexpected hypothesis”, in other words get- ting the piglets used to new situations at an early phase and therefore reducing stress occurrence later in life. The authors did not see a higher feed intake before weaning, but after weaning piglets ate more and especially earlier, which is im- portant to maintain the villi structure created before weaning.
Creep feeding An early creep feed such as Babito is especially developed to train the piglets to eat and stimulate their exploratory behav- iour as the product sticks to the nose of the piglet and con- tains specific corn flakes allowing the piglets to discover the feed in a playful way. Due to its specific composition it will also develop the gut structure (eg. villi formation) and stimu- late enzyme secretion to digest plant based raw materials. This will make the transition to a weaning diet smoother and reduce stress. Recently Babito has been enriched with the new START+ concept. This concept contains specific compo- nents mimicking the prebiotic oligosaccharides present in the colostrum. Research in collaboration with universities showed that START+ has a positive effect on gut microbiome, gut structure and gut barrier function (Figure 1).
Multifactorial approach to weaning At weaning, it is of utmost importance to maintain the created
gut structure, the commensal microbiome and a low epithelial permeability. This demands a multifactorial approach focusing on management and nutrition around weaning. Within the nutritional approach, the Aim For Zero programme was developed: adapted formulation and targeted functional feed ingredients to keep the gut healthy to reduce the dependency of ZnO and antibiotics. From a nutritional point of view, it focusses on applying optimal post weaning formulation, aiming to avoid protein fermentation and steering carbohydrate fermentation. This approach needs to be adapted according to the different genetics as this has an important effect on the formulation strategy to follow. The functional feed ingredient concept is aiming at reducing pathogens, disarming endotoxins and maintaining gut barrier integrity. The latter is being accomplished by specific polyphenols with a strong focus on gut integrity (Figure 2). The combination of START+ around weaning with the Aim for Zero concept after weaning has proven in practice to be very beneficial to piglet health and growth.
Healthy weaning process Gut barrier development in neonatal piglets is a complex process and needs to be done in a very short period of time. Weaning stress should be avoided as much as possible as it jeopardises the gut structure. In addition, effective gut integrity improving interventions and a well-balanced formulation will help to prevent a leaky gut and will be a prerequisite for a healthy weaning process.
▶ WEANING | JUNE 2020 13
Most piglets are weaned between three and four weeks of age. Healthy piglets will start eating sooner.
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High molecular probe (picomoles)
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