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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Understanding gut development in the pig and implication for health and nutrient utilization
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on May 9, 2017
The digestive tract in the neonatal pig undergoes significant structural and functional changes as it transitions from placental feeding in utero to oral feeding after birth, and the consumption of solid food after weaning. This development not only prepares the gut for efficient digestion and absorption of nutrients, but it also helps ensure that a mature gut immune system is in place. Unfortunately, an immature digestive tract in neonatal pigs is still partly responsible for a large population of of peri-natal mortality and pigs and a significant contributor to the post weaning growth check. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions. For several decades, the swine industry has been over dependent on antibiotic supplementation. The tide has obviously turned against sub-therapeutic antibiotic use and the industry must look for alternatives to antibiotics. However a thorough understanding of gut development in the neonatal pig will be essential for determining ideal strategies to optimize gut health and performance.
Understanding gut development in the pig and implication for health and nutrient utilization