Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to determine the effects of soft pellet creep feed (SPCF) on growth performance and intestinal development in piglets.Methods: A total of 18 sows and their litters of crossbred piglets (14±2 days, 3.73±0.72 kg) were assigned to one of three dietary groups receiving i) powder creep feed (PCF), ii) hard pellet creep feed (HPCF) or iii) SPCF during the pre-weaning period. After weaning, piglets were selected for continuous evaluation of the three diets on growth performance and intestinal health.Results: In the pre-weaning period, the average daily feed intake and average daily dry matter intake were significantly higher in the SPCF group than the HPCF group (p<0.05). In the post-weaning and entire experimental period, the different diets had no significant effect on growth performance. At 10 d after weaning, the serum glucose concentration was lower in the SPCF group (p<0.05) than the other groups; a higher (p<0.05) villus height and lower (p<0.05) crypt depth in the jejunum were also observed in the SPCF group than the other groups; Meanwhile, in the duodenum and jejunum, the SPCF group had a higher (p<0.05) villus height to crypt depth ratio than the other groups; Furthermore, the higher (p<0.05) threshold cycle values of lactic acid bacteria and lower (p<0.05) threshold cycle values of <i>Clostridium, Enterobacter and Escherichia coli</i> were also observed in the SPCF group, and the sucrase and maltase activity was higher (p<0.05) in the SPCF group than the other groups in duodenum and ileum.Conclusion: The SPCF improved pre-weaning feed intake and decreased the negative effects of weaning stress in the intestine in piglets.
Funder
National Key Research and Development Program of China
Open Project of Hubei Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science
Publisher
Asian Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies
Subject
General Veterinary,Genetics,Animal Science and Zoology,Physiology,Food Science
Cited by
4 articles.
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