Integration of Nutrition Management with Animal Management for Sustainable Commercial Swine Production

Non-Technical Summary: There is scientific and public pressure to reduce the use of feed additive antibiotic products in the production of food animals. The purpose of this research is to examine nutrtional and animal husbandry methods that allow production of swine without the use of antibacterial feed additives during the critical post-weaning period. <P> Approach: In each of three experiments, crossbred pigs will be weaned at 17 to 21 days of age and assigned to treatments in blocks designed to balance initial weight, litter of origin and sex across treatments. There will be four pigs housed in each treatment pen. In each experiment there will be eight treatment combinations set-up according to a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. In the first two experiments (objective 1), treatment factors will include two dietary supplementation levels of an approved antibiotic feed additive (un-supplemented or supplemented), two dietary supplementation levels of spray-dried plasma protein (un-supplemented or supplemented with 6 percent SDPP), and two levels of pen sanitation condition (cleaned and disinfected prior to pig placement or not cleaned). In the third experiment (objective 2) treatment factors will include two weaning day transportation treatments (weaned and placed directly in nursery pens on site or transported on a highway in a livestock trailer before placing in nursery pens), two dietary supplementation levels of an approved feed additive antibiotic (un-supplemented or supplemented), and two dietary supplementation levels of spray-dried plasma protein (un-supplemented or supplemented with 6 percent SDPP). Response criteria in each experiment will include daily weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion efficiency and intestinal health as determined by intestinal cell histology and veterinary examination.