Evaluation of Elarom SES with or without Tribasic Copper Chloride on Nursery Pig Growth Performance

Weanling pigs (n=360, initially 6.0±0.13 kg BW) were used in a 42-d study evaluating the effects of feeding Elarom SES in combination with increasing tribasic copper chloride on growth performance and fecal consistency. Elarom SES (Trouw Nutrition USA, Highland, IL) is a proprietary blend of functional ingredients designed to enhance growth performance and gut health. Tribasic copper chloride (TBCC, Intellibond C, Micronutrients USA, LLC., Indianapolis, IN) is a form of Cu that has the potential for improved bioavailability and enhanced growth performance. Pigs were weaned at approximately 21 d and allotted to pens based on initial BW in a completely randomized block design with 5 pigs per pen and 12 replications per treatment. Experimental diets were fed in 3 phases (Phase 1, d 0 to 7; Phase 2, d 7 to 21; and Phase 3, d 21 to 42 post-weaning) in meal form. Treatments were arranged as a 2×3 factorial with main effects of Elarom SES (none vs. 0.2% in all phases) and TBCC (none, 108, or 183 ppm of Cu in Phase 3 only). Pen fecal consistency score was determined on d 0, 4, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 on a scale from 1 to 5. A score of 1 indicated hard, pellet type feces and a score of 5 indicated watery, liquid feces. All diets contained 17 mg/kg of Cu from the trace mineral premix. Overall, there was no evidence for treatment differences observed for ADG, ADFI, or fecal consistency; however, a marginal effect for an Elarom SES×TBCC interaction was observed for G:F (quadratic, P=0.058). This was the result of G:F improving at the intermediate level of TBCC without Elarom SES, yet G:F was improved at the highest level of TBCC when Elarom SES was present. Overall, no consistent benefit was observed from feeding Elarom SES or different levels of TBCC on growth performance or fecal consistency of weaned pigs.

	-Elarom SES				+Elarom SES
	TBCC, ppm				TBCC, ppm
	0	108	183		0	108	183	SEM
d 0 to 21
ADG, g	241	262	256		245	253	248	12.26
G:F	0.773	0.810	0.793		0.799	0.780	0.802	0.015
d 21 to 42
ADG, g	610	621	612		604	631	638	13.29
G:F	0.667	0.67	0.655		0.667	0.673	0.680	0.008
d 0 to 42
ADG, g	425	441	433		424	440	443	10.69
G:Fa	0.694	0.706	0.691		0.700	0.701	0.710	0.006
aElarom SES×TBCC (quadratic; P=0.058)