INTERVIEW 36 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2022 low-dose zinc diet containing 150mg/kg zinc and no water acidifier, a high dose zinc diet with an acidifier (Selko®-pH) added to the water, and a low-dose zinc diet that also included an acidifier (Selko®-pH). The researchers used water titration to determine inclusion rates of the acidifier and bring the water pH to 3.8. At this pH level, harmful bacteria find it difficult to survive. Food and water were provided ad libitum to piglets throughout the studies. While acidification of water was limited to three weeks, the piglets were monitored for an additional three weeks. What piglet performance parameters were evaluated in the studies conducted in Canada? Researchers tracked piglets to assess average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and final bodyweight (BW). What were some key findings from the studies? The raw data from the two studies were combined into one dataset and analyzed using a model procedure to assess ADG, ADFI, FCR and BW. (See Table 1). Except for the first week, piglets receiving the high zinc diet tended to have a higher ADG compared to piglets receiving the low zinc diet. By week three, the pigs fed a high-zinc diet had an average daily gain of 453g/d compared to pigs fed the low-zinc diet that gained 452g/d. Although supplementation was only for the first three weeks of the diet, the trend continued through week six. Piglets receiving the water acidifier in both the high- and low-dose treatment groups had increased weight gain compared to piglets that did not receive an acidifier. Table 1. Production performance of weaned piglets, data of two studies HZ (high dose of zinc oxide (ZnO) in feed and no water acidifier), LZ (low dose of ZnO in feed and no water acidifier), HZ+PH (high dose of ZnO in feed and Selko-pH in water), LZ+PH (low dose of ZnO in feed and Selko-pH in water), BW (body weight), ADG (average daily gain), ADFI (average daily feed intake), FCR (feed conversion ratio). End BW, kg ADG, g/d ADFI, g/d FCR, kg/kg End BW, kg ADG, g/d ADFI, g/d FCR, kg/kg End BW, kg ADG, g/d ADFI, g/d FCR, kg/kg Mortality HZ 6.97ab 165a 166a 1.172a 11.39a 261a 334ab 1.275b 25.12a 453a 602a 1.342a 3.5 LZ 6.98ab 167ab 178b 1.249b 11.10a 253a 333a 1.314a 24.91a 452a 607a 1.339a 1.2 HZ + PH 6.91a 157a 165a 1.160a 11.82b 287b 346bc 1.217a 25.32ab 459ab 603a 1.320a 2.5 LZ + PH 7.06b 179b 179b 1.184ab 11.74b 279b 348a 1.233a 25.78b 471b 620b 1.322b 2.6 P 0.024 0.011 0.020 0.046 <0.001 <0.001 0.028 <0.001 0.006 0.008 0.055 0.002 0.269 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==