30 The Effect of Creep Feed Composition and Form on Pre- and Post-weaning Growth Performance of Pigs and the Utilization of Low-quality Nursery Diets

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 21-22
Author(s):  
Brenda Christensen ◽  
Lee-Anne Huber

Abstract Fifty-six litters standardized to 12 piglets from first-parity sows were used to determine the effects of creep and nursery diet compositions on pre- and post-weaning pig growth performance. At three days of age, litters (initial BW 2.31±0.61kg) were assigned to one of four creep feeding regimens (n=14): [1] commercial creep feed (COM), [2] liquid milk replacer (LMR), [3] pelleted milk replacer (PMR), or [4] no creep feed (NO); creep feeds contained 1.0% brilliant blue as a fecal marker. Fecal swabs were collected every 3±1 days to identify piglets that regularly consumed creep feed. At weaning (18±1 days of age), six pigs per litter that consumed creep feed were placed on either a HIGH- (contained highly digestible animal proteins) or LOW- (contained corn and soybean meal as the main protein sources) quality nursery diet (n = 7) in a three-phase feeding program over 38 days. The LMR disappeared at the greatest rate (37.7 g/pig/d; DM-basis) versus COM and PMR (10.8±1.5 g/pig/d; P < 0.001). Litters that received LMR had the greatest proportion of pigs with blue fecal swabs between study days 4 and 15 (85.0 vs 59.0±0.4%; P < 0.05) and LMR piglets had greater BW at weaning versus all other treatments (6.32, 6.02, 5.92, 5.67±0.14 kg, for LMR, COM, NO, and PMR, respectively; P < 0.001). Over the entire nursery period, pigs that received LOW diets had reduced ADG (399 vs 485±42 g; P < 0.001), ADFI (520 vs 595±37 g; P< 0.001), G:F (0.77 vs 0.82±0.03; P < 0.01), and BW at the end of the nursery period (21.2 vs 24.4±1.6 kg; P < 0.001), with no carryover effects of creep feeding regimen. Providing supplemental nutrition during the suckling period via LMR improved pig body weight at weaning, but did not improve post-weaning growth performance, regardless of nursery diet quality.

Author(s):  
B Christensen ◽  
L Huber

Abstract Fifty-six litters from first-parity sows standardized to 12 piglets were used to determine the effects of creep feed composition and form on pre- and post-weaning pig growth performance and the utilization of low-complexity nursery diets. At five days of age, litters (initial BW 2.31±0.61 kg) were assigned to one of four creep feeding regimens (n=14): [1] pelleted commercial creep feed (COM), [2] liquid milk replacer (LMR), [3] pelleted milk replacer (PMR), or [4] no creep feed (NO); creep feeds contained 1.0 % brilliant blue as a fecal marker. Individual piglet BW and fecal swabs were collected every 3±1 days during the creep-feeding period. The latter was to identify piglets that regularly consumed creep feed via the visual appearance of blue dye in the feces. At weaning (21±2 days of age), six pigs per litter with median BW that consumed creep feed were placed on either a HIGH- (contained highly digestible animal proteins) or LOW- (contained corn and soybean meal as the main protein sources) complexity nursery diet (n=7) in a three-phase feeding program over 39 days. On day 8, two pigs per pen were sacrificed to collect organ weights and digesta. The LMR disappeared at the greatest rate (average 37.7 g/pig/d; DM-basis) versus COM and PMR (10.6 and 10.3 ± 1.5 g/pig/d, respectively; P < 0.001). Litters that received LMR had the greatest proportion of pigs with blue fecal swabs throughout the creep feeding period (85.0 vs. 54.9 and 63.0 ± 0.4% for COM and PMR, respectively; P < 0.05) and LMR piglets had greater BW at weaning versus all other treatments (6.32 vs. 6.02, 5.92, and 5.67 ± 0.14 kg, for LMR, COM, NO, and PMR, respectively; P < 0.001). Overall, pigs given LOW (versus HIGH) diets in the nursery period had reduced ADG (25.1 vs. 27.7 ± 0.4 g/kg BW; P < 0.001), G:F (0.75 vs. 0.81 ± 0.02; P < 0.001), and exit BW (21.2 vs. 24.4 ± 0.6 kg; P < 0.001); no carryover effects of creep feeding program were observed. Creep feed regimen had limited effects on nutrient digestibility of nursery diets but the apparent ileal digestibility of organic matter tended to be less at 28 days of age for pigs that received the LOW nursery diet (64.2 vs. 68.8 ± 2.5%; P = 0.076). Providing supplemental nutrition during the suckling period via LMR improved piglet BW at weaning, which did not correspond to improved post-weaning growth performance, regardless of nursery diet complexity.


2000 ◽  
Vol 2000 ◽  
pp. 119-119
Author(s):  
P.J. Blanchard ◽  
P. Toplis ◽  
L. Taylor ◽  
H.M. Miller

Creep feeding enhances weaning weight (King et al., 1998) and may also enhance early post-weaning growth rate, both of which are positively correlated to subsequent performance (Miller et al., 1999). When preweaning feeds are offered, current practice in the UK is to feed either dry feed from day 14 to weaning or acidified milk replacer from days 3 to 18. Intakes of dry feed pre-weaning are generally low whereas liquid feeds are consumed more readily. Our objectives were 1) to offer creep feed as a gruel to test whether this would enhance intake of creep and provide an alternative to milk replacer, and 2) to provide all three forms of supplementary feeding together to determine whether this further increased performance. Piglets receiving no supplementary pre-weaning feed were the negative control.


2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Collins ◽  
R. S. Morrison ◽  
R. J. Smits ◽  
D. J. Henman ◽  
F. R. Dunshea ◽  
...  

The influences of creep feed composition and piglet weaning age on apparent creep feed disappearance and post-weaning performance were examined. A total of 24 gilts and 72 multiparous sows were selected at farrowing, and their litters allocated to a 2 by 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with the factors being weaning age (22 or 29 days of age) and the composition of the creep feed [simple (diet based predominately on cereals and animal and vegetable protein sources) or complex (diet based predominately on cereals, animal protein sources and 300 g/kg whey powder)]. Creep feed was offered to all litters from 9 days of age to weaning. While creep feed disappearance did not affect pre-weaning growth performance, there was a greater disappearance of the simple creep feed than the complex creep feed from 9 days of age to weaning (776 versus 461 g/litter, respectively, P = 0.004). Apparent creep feed intake from individual piglets in a subset of litters was assessed at three time points (16 and 19 days of age and at weaning), allowing the characterisation of individual pigs as good, moderate, small or non-eaters. There was no difference between treatment groups (χ2 = 6.27, P = 0.71) in the characterisation of apparent creep feed disappearance by individual piglets, however piglets offered the simple creep diet before weaning consumed more feed (P = 0.004) and gained weight faster (P = 0.007) during the first 5 days after weaning than those animals offered the complex creep diet. Feed intake from weaning to 49 days of age also tended to be greater in pigs offered the simple creep diet before weaning (P = 0.053), with this difference reflected in daily gain from weaning to 49 days of age (P = 0.051). Despite these differences, creep feed composition did not influence lifetime growth performance or carcass composition. Pigs weaned at 22 days of age were heavier midway through the weaner period (49 days of age) than pigs weaned at 29 days of age (15.2 versus 14.3 kg, respectively, P = 0.009), and tended to grow faster from birth to slaughter (616 versus 610 g/day, respectively, P = 0.079). These data suggest that the provision of a complex creep diet during lactation may not improve lifetime growth performance above that of a less expensive creep diet. Weaning age may however influence lifetime performance, with weaning at 29 days of age tending to reduce rate of gain from birth to slaughter.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 191-192
Author(s):  
Jorge Y Perez-Palencia ◽  
David A Clizer ◽  
Christian Ramirez-Camba ◽  
Ryan S Samuel ◽  
Crystal L Levesque

Abstract This experiment evaluated the effect of dietary protease supplementation on pig’s growth performance and post-weaning diarrhea in a 43-d trial. A total of 936 weaned pigs [21 d of age, initial BW 5.87 ± 0.31 kg] were used in a 2 × 2 factorial design (2 nutritional levels × 2 protease levels). The nutritional levels corresponded to a standard feeding program and a reduced feeding program (15% lower SID Lys) and without or with protease supplementation (0.0125% inclusion). Piglets were distributed in 36 pens with 26 pigs per pen and 9 replicates per dietary treatment. Pigs received a common Phase 1 diet and experimental diets in Phase 2, 3, and 4, (0.91, 3.4, 4.5, and 24.0 kg/pig, respectively). Phytase was included at 2,500 U in Phase 2 – 4, all diets met energy and AA:Lys requirements for nursery pigs. Feed intake and body weight were determined every 2 weeks. A pen fecal score assessment was performed at d7, 10, and 14. Performance data were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure and fecal score data using the PROC FREQ procedure (SAS Inst., Inc., Cary, NC). No significant interactions (P > 0.05) were observed between dietary treatments. From d15 to 43 and during overall experimental period, pigs fed standard diets had greater BW, ADG, and G:F (P < 0.05) than pigs fed deficient diets (Table 1). On d7, pigs fed deficient diet had more (X2 < 0.05) soft and watery feces, and consequently less normal feces compared to pigs fed standard diets (Figure 1). On d7, 10, and 14, pigs fed diets with protease supplementation had more (X2 < 0.05) normal feces compared to control pigs. Overall, effects of dietary protease supplementation on growth performance were not expressive under the conditions of this study but protease addition benefited intestinal health of nursery pigs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104556
Author(s):  
Paweł Górka ◽  
Katarzyna Budzińska ◽  
Waldemar Budziński ◽  
Tomasz Jankowiak ◽  
Sylvia Kehoe ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1466-1474
Author(s):  
Emily G Hayes ◽  
Raquel V Lourençon ◽  
Richard Browning

Abstract Creep feeding and its possible interactions with other influential factors (genetics, litter type, and sex) for weaning traits were studied in meat goat kids and their dams. Kids across 3 yr were creep fed (254 kids; 5 pens) or not creep fed (255 kids; 5 pens) from 30 to 90 d of age. Creep-fed kids had higher (P ≤ 0.05) preweaning average daily weight gain and weaning weights (113.1 ± 13.0 g/d; 15.0 ± 0.8 kg) than kids not creep fed (99.8 ± 13.1 g/d; 14.0 ± 0.8 kg). However, financial returns were not higher (P > 0.05) for creep-fed kids compared with kids not creep fed. There was no difference (P > 0.05) in kid conformation score or survival rates between the treatment groups. The only important interaction among kid traits was treatment × litter type (P < 0.05) for FAMACHA scores. Within noncreep pens, single kids had lower (better; P < 0.05) FAMACHA scores (2.9 ± 0.3) than twin kids (3.9 ± 0.3). There was no litter-type effect on FAMACHA scores for kids within the creep feed pens. Dams of the creep-fed (n = 175) and noncreep (n = 178) kids were also evaluated. Treatment did not affect (P > 0.05) litter weights, dam weight change, gross revenue for weaned litters, or fecal egg counts. Treatment interacted with litter type (P < 0.05) to effect packed cell volume (PCV). In the noncreep group, dams raising singles had higher (better; P < 0.05) PCV (18.7 ± 1.3%) than dams rearing twin kids (15.7 ± 1.3%). The litter-type effect on dam PCV was not evident (P > 0.05) in the creep-fed group. Creep feeding improved some kid growth traits but did not improve dam traits or financial returns. Interactions of creep treatment with other factors were minimal for doe-kid traits.


1996 ◽  
Vol 1996 ◽  
pp. 138-138
Author(s):  
S. Kavanagh ◽  
P.B. Lynch ◽  
P.J. Caffrey ◽  
W.D. Henry

The benefits of creep feeding in a 3 - 4 week weaning system is uncertain. Sow milk yield peaks at 3 - 4 weeks postpartum and the need for supplementary feed to maintain growth rates of suckling pigs is minimal. The objective of this study was to quantify creep feed intake by suckling pigs and to assess the effect of creep feeding on piglet growth and weight at weaning when weaned at 26.0 (s.e. 0.6) days of age.The results reported here were obtained by combining data from 296 litters of suckling pigs on 5 creep feeding trials. The five trials involved comparison of diets and management systems as follows: (A) effect of quality of creep feed (high quality starter diet vs medium quality starter diet vs a pelleted cooked cereal); (B) comparison of meal and pelleted diets; (C) the effect of form (reconstituted calf milk replacer - 20 % dry matter vs solid pellet vs peat primer offered with a solid pellet); (D) effect of feed freshness (fresh creep vs 30 day old creep vs 60 day old creep feed); (E) effect of creep feeding piglets on pre-weaning performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 77-78
Author(s):  
Trey A Kellner ◽  
Josh Ellingson ◽  
Ana L P de Souza ◽  
Janet C Remus

Abstract The response to probiotics and enzymes is often documented in research facilities with a high degree of control and via pigs with no insults to health or feed intake. However, in commercial conditions, the response to feed additives promoting advanced gut health and improved digestion must be consistent and defined over a wide range of health statuses, stocking densities, feed intakes, environments, and diet formulations. The objective of this experiment was to determine if a combined feed protease and probiotic system (Syncra® SWI 201, DuPont, Wilmington, DE) would improve growth performance and mortality under commercial conditions. A total of 127,092 pigs (6.0 ± 0.1 kg; PIC 337 sired, Hendersonville, TN) from a sow farm producing porcine reproductive and respiratory virus and rotavirus positive weaned pigs were placed in 53 2,400-head commercial wean-to-finish barns that were alternated to 1 of 2 treatments (a control treatment without Syncra® SWI (SSWI) or with SSWI included at 72.6 g/ton of finished feed from 22.7 kg of BW to harvest) in a rolling allotment over a 12-month period. Pigs were on the experiment for an average of 162 ± 1.0 days (until harvest). Throughout the 12-month experimental period, diets (outside of the SSWI inclusion) could change in order to maximize return over feed costs. Data were analyzed using Proc MIXED (SAS 9.4; Cary, NC) with treatment as the main effect and barn as the experimental unit. Compared to the control, adding SSWI improved mortality by 1.9% and percent grade 1 marketed pigs by 2.2% (P ≤ 0.025). Compared to the control, SSWI did not improve ADG (control = 0.75 vs. SSWI = 0.78 kg) or gain:feed (control = 0.401 vs. SSWI = 0.396). In conclusion, the inclusion of the SSWI combined feed protease and probiotic system can improve mortality and grade 1 marketed pigs, but not growth performance under commercial conditions.


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Fiorotto ◽  
P. J. Reeds ◽  
J. J. Cunningham ◽  
W. G. Pond

2015 ◽  
pp. 43-47
Author(s):  
Zsolt Győri ◽  
Péter Balogh ◽  
László Huzsvai ◽  
Gabriella Novotniné Dankó

Sow milk production is the major factor limiting pig growth to weaning. Although the milk production of the sows incremental many environmental factors affect the actual performances. The supplemental milk replacer can be an appropriate solution to ward off disparities and try to equalize the available milk quantity to the piglets according to their appetite, to enlarge the weight of pigs at weaning, ultimately. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of liquid milk supplement on weight development and litter performance of the piglets during the suckling period. Data were collected from 60 farrowings, the weight of 649 piglets in a total were measured at birth, 14 days old and at weaning (28 days), respectively. In the control group (n=319) the piglets were suckled and got prestarter feed from day 10. In the experimental group (n= 330) the piglets had got liquid milk replacer in 10.71% solution, from day 10 after birth together with suckling and prestarter feed, as well. Based on the Duncan's multiple range tests, there were no significant differences in birth weight between the control and experimental group but we found significant differences between the 14 days weight and the weaning weight, subsequently. Based on the CV% of weight the experimental group became more homogenous, in contrary to the weight of the control group at the end of suckling period. The milk supplementation can be an appropriate solution to ward off disparities and to equalize the available milk quantity to the piglets according to their appetite, to enlarge and uniform the weight of pigs at weaning, ultimately.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document