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Eubiotics are a group of feed additives that have the objective of enhancing the balance within the microbiome of the pigs, ultimately creating an environment where we have optimal health and performance.
Within the group of eubiotics we have:
- Prebiotics
- Postbiotics
- Probiotics
- Phytogenic compounds including plants, extracts, essential oils, and nature-identical equivalents.
- Organic acids
- Gut health enzymes
- Lysozymes, lactoferrin, bacteriocins, and antimicrobial peptides
Why should we consider using eubiotics in pig production?
There is an increasing interest in using eubiotics for growth promotion as we are losing some of the other growth promoting technologies, in-feed antibiotics, etc. Other effects are:
- to enhance the digestive limitations of immature weaner pigs.
- in the growing-finishing pigs, the aim is to improve resilience, maintain homeostasis, and prevent disease.
- to influence how the animal copes with normal commercial stresses, such as heat stress, normal metabolic stress associated with transition, and lactation in sows.
- to provide some level of insurance. Can be used to enhance the branding or marketing potential.
How can we evaluate eubiotics? What is the baseline?
Eubiotics are seen as alternatives to things like zinc, antibiotic growth promotors (AGP), metabolic modifiers, but if these products are no longer going to be available, should they be used as baseline? You should have a negative control to evaluate the best economic solution and not take into account the products that are banned or soon to be banned.
To make a proper evaluation of eubiotics, keep your focus on the core basis of our business: What is the cost to produce a kilogram of pork meat?
If the eubiotic has an influence on weaned piglets per sow, it will have a very significant impact on the cost of producing a kilogram of pork, and also we have a full grow-out cycle to convert that investment into additional profits.
The value of eubiotics is not constant; eubiotics on one farm don’t always perform as well as on another farm. Value can also change over time. There are a lot of farm factors, including health status, hygiene program, housing design, climate, stocking density, feed access, biosecurity, weaning weight, weaning age, genetics, and there is also a seasonal effect.
To make a fair economic assessment first you need to put a cost on the issue that you have:
- What is the economic value of reducing post weaning mortality from 5 % to 3%?
- What is the size of the problem in relation to the population?
- Brand image: the image of commercial feed millers is often closely linked to the quality of their lactating sow feed and their creep and pre-starter piglet feed.
- Are there opportunities for premium branding?
- What is the cost of alternatives? If you're in a market where antibiotics are still permitted as AGP and still widely used, the value of eubiotics may be lower.
Capitalizing eubiotics in breeding sow nutrition
The sow is the profit-driving house in a swine operation. There is a range of benefits especially for sows:
- Oxidant support is critical during transition and lactation
- Digestive functionality is critical for sows in heat stress
- Through the use of eubiotics we can influence the quality of the immune package that the sow is able to pass onto her progeny through colostrum
- Colostrum quality will influence piglet quality.
A very small investment early on can lead to significant financial rewards by the time the pigs reach market.
The following are examples where sows received probiotics in transition and lactation that resulted in additional litter weaning weight.
Table 1. Eubiotics effect.
| Reference | Type of eubiotics | Eubiotics cost/ton treated feed | Kg consumed per sow | Investment per sow | Kg of additional litter weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betancur et al. 2021 | Probiotics | $5/ton | 245 kg (transition+lactation) | $1.25/sow | +6 kg |
| Balasubramanian et al. 2016 | Microencapsulated essential oils+organic acids | $8/ton | 185 kg (7 pre- and 25 post-farrowing) | $1.25/sow | +10 kg |
Eubiotics in weaner and grower/finisher pigs
The meta-analysis by Cardinal et al. 2021 showed that when we take away antibiotic growth promotors, the reduction in average daily gain in the nursery was 7%. On average that means we would be losing 1.5 kilos of nursery exit weight.
How much could we afford to invest to try to recapture those 1.5 kilos of lost weight? The final number is related to pork price (Table 1). This calculation did not consider any changes in mortality or morbidity or the fact that 1.5 kg extra weight at the end of the nursery can become 3 or more kg at slaughter. A 7% reduction in nursery average daily gain (P<0.05) equates to 1.5 kg live weight loss at day 70. This study used an average nursery feed cost of $600/t and a return on investment expectation (ROI) of 3:1.
Table 2. How much can we afford to invest in nursery diets to recover the average daily gain lost after removing antibiotic growth promotors? Modified from Cardinal et al. 2021.
| Pork price | Addition income | Afford to invest/pig | Invest/t of feed |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1.50 | $2.25 | $0.75 | $22.7 |
| $1.80 | $2.70 | $0.90 | $27.3 |
| $2.10 | $3.15 | $1.05 | $31.8 |
| $2.40 | $3.60 | $1.20 | $36.3 |
| $2.70 | $4.05 | $1.35 | $40.9 |
In the same study, the significance level for the growing-finishing pigs was weaker, so antibiotic growth promotors do not always work as well on growing-finishing pigs but the tendency was for a 4.7% improvement in average daily gain. A 4.7% reduction in grower-finisher average daily gain (P=0.078) equates to 3.3kg live weight loss at day 140.
The study considered an average nursery feed cost of $400/t and that a pig consumes 167 kg from day 70 to day 140. The return on income expectation used was 3:1.
Table 3: How much can we afford to invest in eubiotics in grower-finisher diets to recover the average daily gain lost after removing antibiotic growth promotors. Modified from Cardinal et al. 2021.
| Pork price | Addition income | Afford to invest/pig | Invest/t of feed |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1.50 | $4.95 | $1.65 | $9.9 |
| $1.80 | $5.94 | $1.98 | $11.8 |
| $2.10 | $6.93 | $2.31 | $13.8 |
| $2.40 | $7.92 | $2.64 | $15.8 |
| $2.70 | $8.91 | $2.97 | $17.8 |
There are plenty of publications where the impact on average daily gain is 4.6% or higher so there is a very good opportunity to recapture most, if not all, of the missing weight.
Use of eubiotics during difficult times
In situations with very high feed prices, and/or poor pork prices, eubiotics are often removed to get a cost-savings when we look only at the cost of feed.
Before removing eubiotics, be cautious. Stop and think about why you included the eubiotic in the first place.
- If the reason you included the eubiotic is still valid, question whether it is wise to be so quick to take it out.
- The dose response of eubiotics is rarely linear. Half the dose does not mean half the benefit.
- As feed prices go up, there is a tendency to reduce the quality of our diets. If we erode diet quality, it may actually mean there is justification to increase the use of eubiotics rather than to decrease or remove them.
- Keep your focus on the cost to produce a kilogram of pork and not the cost per tonne of feed.
- Sow productivity is the main profit driver in any swine operation. Be very cautious to make drastic changes to your sows.
The opportunity for economic returns is not equal across the different stages, the greatest opportunity is in sows, followed by weaner pigs, and in particular scenarios, there is an economic reason to consider them for grower and finisher pigs.
