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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:
Can Flaxseed Replace Antibiotics in Nursery Diets?
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Production by student on June 19, 2018
Author: Laura Eastwood and Denise Beaulieu
Publication: Centred on Swine, Winter 2016 Volume 22 Number 2
Summary:
Due to the phasing out of antibiotics from feed it is essential to find alternative strategies to aid in nutritional modulation and to help piglets cope with weaning. During weaning they are exposed to three major stressors: nutritional, environmental and social.
In addition to determining if flaxseed would be an effective alternative to antibiotics the study also looked at weaning at 3 weeks of age versus weaning at 4 weeks of age.
The results from this trial show that in a high health situation utilizing antibiotics in feed has no benefit regardless of the age that the piglets are weaned at. In addition, at nursery exit (8 weeks of age), piglets that were weaned at 3 weeks of age had heavier body weights then those weaned at 4 weeks of age. This is believed to be due to that fact that piglets weaned at 3 weeks of age had lower WBC, CK and AST counts.
Can Flaxseed Replace Antibiotics in Nursery Diets