Effect of colostrum supplementation on baby pig performance

Abstract

Two experiments evaluated the effect of colostrum and energy supplementation on the performance and immune response of baby piglets. In Exp. 1, 301 newborn pigs (Line 600 × 241; DNA, 1.48 kg) were used in a 21-d study. Pigs were weighed and allotted to one of three treatments at 6-h of age in a randomized complete block design with 23 replications (litters) per treatment. Piglets were blocked by weight and randomly assigned a treatment. Runt piglets (birthweight < 0.8 kg) were tested in experiment 1 and 2. Dietary treatments were a control with no dietary supplementation, an energy supplement (1.5 ml containing glucose, dried milk, medium chain triglycerides, and tea extract), and bovine colostrum (30 ml). The supplements were given as an oral gavage. A single treatment was administered at 6-h after birth. At 30-h of age approximately 1ml of blood was obtained for an immunocrit assay of serum. The glucose based energy supplement (milk protein, medium chain triglycerides) had no (P > 0.05) effect on weight or ADG at any of the weigh periods (30-h, d 5, d 7, d 14, and weaning), immunocrit ratio, or survival rate. The bovine colostrum treatment had a negative (P < 0.05) effect on weight at 24-h, d 5, and d 7, immunocrit ratio, and survival rate. There was no (P > 0.05) effect of treatment on weight at weaning. . In Exp. 2, 364 newborn pigs (Line 600 × 241; DNA, 1.48 kg) were used in a 21-d study. Pigs were weighed and allotted to one of three treatments in a randomized complete block design with 25 replications (litters) per treatment. Dietary treatments were a control with no dietary supplementation, an energy supplement (1.5 ml, glucose based, containing milk protein, medium chain triglycerides, and tea extract), and bovine colostrum (10 ml). The supplements were given as an oral gavage. A single treatment was administered at 6-h after birth. At 30-h of age blood was collected for analysis of serum immunocrit. Body weights, ADG during the duration of the trial, immunocrit ratio, and survival rates were similar (P > 0.05) for the treatment groups. In both experiment 1 and 2 there were no treatment by weight group interaction. In summary, under the conditions of these experiments supplementation of 30 ml of bovine colostrum had a negative effect (P < 0.05) on immunocrit ratio and survival rate (P > 0.05), of the treatments affected on weaning weights when compared to the control.