0
In Exp 1, a total of 50 sows were distributed into 2 experimental treatments according to parity number and date of farrowing in a randomized complete block design. Treatment 1 was a creep diet with no flavor (control diet) and treatment 2 was the control diet with the inclusion of 1500 ppm of milky flavour. Chromic oxide was included in both diets as an indigestible marker. In Exp 2, 480 weanling piglets were distributed by initial body weight into one of the 8 experimental treatments in a randomized block design with pre-weaning exposure to the flavour (exposed vs. unexposed), nursery diet complexity (complex vs. simple) and flavor addition to the nursery diets (with vs. without flavor) as treatment factors.
In Exp 1, no differences in weaning weight (P>0.53), total gain (P>0.77) and ADG (P>0.77) were observed between litters or pigs fed creep with and without the flavor. Flavor added to the creep feed did not influence total (P>0.66) or daily (P>0.66) creep feed intake of litters or the proportion of creep feed eaters (P>0.41) in whole litters. In Exp 2, a tendency on the 3-way interaction (creep x diet x nursery diet) was observed for ADG from 5 to 10 days (P<0.11), 10 to 28 days (P<0.09) and 0 to 28 days (P<0.06). Post-weaning ADG of piglets exposed to the flavor in creep feed and piglets fed the flavored complex diet was greater than that of pigs in any other treatment combination. Increasing diet complexity improved (P<0.01) ADG and ADFI during both phases. Flavor addition in the creep feed had no effect on the FCR (P>0.34) and pig BW (P>0.45) in both periods post-weaning, however the addition of flavour in piglet diets from 0 to 5 days post-weaning tended to improve ADFI (P<0.06).
It is concluded that the addition of milky flavour in the creep feed did not affect litter creep feed intake, proportion of piglets consuming creep feed and pre-weaning performance when creep feed was provided for 3 days before weaning (18 to 21d). Pre-weaning exposure to the milky flavor improved post-weaning daily gain of pigs fed complex diets supplemented with the same flavor but did not influence performance of pigs fed simple diets.
RC Sulabo, MD Tokach, JM DeRouchey, CD Risley, JL Nelssen, SS Dritz and RD Goodband (2008) Swine day, Kansas State University: 140-141.
