Evaluation of Elarom SES in nursery diets with the inclusion of varying levels of Intellibond C

Abstract

A total of 360 weaned pigs (DNA 200 × 400; initially 11.5 lb BW) were used in a 42-d trial to evaluate the effects of feeding Elarom SES in combination with high levels of Intellibond C on nursery pig growth performance and fecal consistency. Elarom SES (Trouw Nutrition USA, Highland, IL) is a combination of pre- and probiotic technologies designed to enhance growth performance and gut health. Intellibond C (Micronutrients USA, LLC, Indianapolis, IN) is a form of tri-basic copper chloride that has been shown to enhance growth performance of pigs. At weaning (d 21 of age), pigs were randomly assigned to pens based on initial weight with 5 pigs per pen. Pens were then allotted in a completely randomized design to 1 of 6 experimental treatments arranged as a 2 × 3 factorial. The main effects were Elarom SES (none vs. 4 lb/ton) and Intellibond C (none vs. 108 or 183 ppm fed during phase 3). Experimental diets were fed in meal form in 3 phases (phase 1, d 0 to 7; phase 2, d 7 to 21; and phase 3, d 21 to 42). There was no evidence for differences in ADG, ADFI, F/G, or fecal consistency score for the main effects of Elarom SES, linear or quadratic effects of Intellibond C, or interactive effects for any of the individual phases. During the overall experimental period (d 0 to 42), there was no evidence for differences in ADG or ADFI. However, a marginally significant quadratic interaction (P = 0.061) was observed for F/G, where F/G was improved for the intermediate level of Intellibond C without the inclusion of Elarom SES, but was improved at the highest level of Intellibond C when Elarom SES was added. In conclusion, feeding Elarom SES and/or different levels of Intellibond C resulted in no consistent improvement of nursery pig growth performance or fecal consistency.