474
Effects of a blend of essential oil compounds, feed-grade antibiotics, and their combination on the growth performance of nursery pigs
A total of 72 pigs (initial wt. of 6.2 kg) were utilized in a 35-d study to evaluate the effects of feeding a blend of essential oils (EO, Crina Piglet, DSM Nutritional Products, Parsippany, NJ), a feed-grade antibiotic (AB, Mecadox, Phibro, Teaneck, NJ), and their combination (EO+AB) on the growth performance of nursery pigs. Weaned pigs (3 wks of age) were placed into 24 pens containing 3 pigs per pen and allotted to one of four dietary treatments for a total of 6 replicate pens per treatment. Gender was balanced within pens in a weight block. Treatments were arranged as a 2X2 factorial arrangement in order to evaluate possible EO*AB interactions. Treatments consisted of 1) Control without EO or AB, 2) EO (200 mg/kg), 3) AB (50 mg/kg), and 4) OE + AB. All pigs were fed the same 3-phase nursery program with the exception of the added treatments, which replaced corn when added. Diet phases were 0-7 d, 7-21 d, and 21-35 d. Diets were formulated to meet or exceed all nutrient requirements based on NRC (2012). Overall, there were no EO*AB interactions (P ≤ 0.05) for any parameters measured. EO significantly improved G:F (P≤0.05) for the d 0-35 period as compared to pigs fed no EO, while AB significantly improved final body weight, ADG, and ADFI compared to pigs not fed AB (P≤0.05) during the d 0-35 period. In summary, it appears that dietary addition of both AB and EO can improve the growth performance of nursery pigs.
Table 1. Main effects of essential oils and antibiotics on nursery pig performance
Treatment |
- |
+ |
SEM |
P-Value |
%Change |
Essential Oils |
|
|
|
|
|
BW, d 35 |
22.43 |
23.18 |
0.37 |
0.17 |
3.3 |
ADG, g (d 0-35) |
464 |
485 |
10 |
0.17 |
4.5 |
ADFI, g (d 0-35) |
659 |
661 |
14 |
NS |
- |
G:F (d 0-35) |
0.703a |
0.734b |
0.007 |
0.006 |
4.4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Antibiotic |
|
|
|
|
|
BW, d 35 |
22.01a |
23.59b |
0.37 |
0.01 |
7.2 |
ADG, g (d 0-35) |
452a |
497b |
11 |
0.01 |
10.0 |
ADFI, g (d 0-35) |
637a |
683b |
15 |
0.05 |
7.2 |
G:F (d 0-35) |
0.710 |
0.727 |
0.007 |
0.08 |
2.4 |
a-b Means within a row with different superscripts differ (P < 0.05).
Keywords:
essential oils, performance, pigs