Michael Bosompem, Michael Wellington, Andrew van Kessel – A recent study examined whether lowering crude protein levels in nursery pig diets could help reduce post-weaning diarrhea caused by rotavirus and E. coli infection. Researchers compared standard diets with low-protein and fiber-added diets in weaned pigs over 42 days.
The low crude protein diet reduced diarrhea severity and improved gut health without hurting overall growth performance. Lower protein levels likely reduced the amount of undigested protein reaching the hindgut, which limits harmful bacterial fermentation linked to diarrhea. Adding insoluble fiber showed fewer consistent benefits.
The findings suggest that carefully formulated low-protein diets, balanced with essential amino acids, may be an effective nutritional strategy to manage post-weaning diarrhea while reducing reliance on antibiotics or zinc oxide in nursery pigs.
