Current starter programs use lactose and porcine plasma as key ingredients. If antibiotic use in diet is restricted, these may become more important. Depending on age or weight of the pigs, these feed additives may have differential effects. This is compared to groups with different floor space allowance too see if the response changes with crowded or non-crowded pigs. Adding 4% plasma and 30% lactose in weanling pigs diet has a modest improvement in performance in the seven days post-weaning. No interactive effects were noted between these feed additives and starting weight did not affect the results. Performance decreased with crowding and may become detrimental as the pigs grow. The dietary supplementation that was given do not seem to replace antibiotics in a nursery diet.
Interaction Among Lactose, Plasma Proteins and Crowding in Weanlings (full article)
