Abstract
The abrupt change from a liquid to a dry diet affects feed intake of the pig during the first few days after weaning making them more susceptible to weight loss and diarrhea. A gel-based nutritional supplement may ease the weaning transition to dry feed. Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of gel supplementation (GS) during the first week after weaning and at vaccination (VAC) on performance of weanling pigs. In Exp. 1, two treatments (TRT) were evaluated: 1) control pelleted diet vs. 2) as 1 plus a gel supplement containing plasma protein fed separately. In Exp. 2, TRT 1 and 2 were as described in Exp. 1, and TRT 3 was as 1 plus a gel devoid of plasma protein. Pigs receiving GS had greater (P < 0.05) ADG and ADFI during days 0 to 4 and days 0 to 7 postweaning, and pigs fed the two types of gel had similar performance. At the end of the 36-day experiment, pigs receiving GS were heavier (P < 0.1) than pigs not receiving GS. In Exp. 3, dietary TRT were arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial with one factor being VAC and the other being GS. Pigs in the VAC group received Mycoplasma and Circovirus vaccines at days 0 and 14 postweaning, and pigs in the GS group received gel from days 0 to 7 and days 13 to15 postweaning. Pigs receiving GS had greater ADG (P < 0.05) during days 0 to 7 and ADFI (P < 0.05) during days 0 to 7 and days 14 to 22 postweaning than pigs not receiving GS. VAC pigs had lower (P < 0.05) ADG and ADFI than non-VAC pigs during days 14 to 22 postweaning. These data indicate that GS during the first 7 days after weaning improves growth performance of nursery pigs and it is beneficial to both VAC and non-VAC pigs.