Effects of Dietary Yeast Culture on Growth Performance, Feed Digestibility and Faecal Microbiota in Weaned Piglets

Abstract

Background: Generally, in pig farming, the most important thing is the health of the piglets and adequate nutrition for optimal growth. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of yeast culture (YC) to the diet on growth performance and pathogenic bacteria in the excreta of piglets. Methods: One hundred twenty male crossed Landrace piglets with an average body weight of 12.77+1.28 kg, were randomly divided into four treatment groups (30 piglets each). Piglets in the control group were given basal feed without the addition of YC (A); and the other group was fed a basal diet with an additional 0.20% YC (B); 0.40% YC (C) and 0.60% YC(D), respectively. In every 1 g of YC contains as much as 3.95x106 CFU/g Saccharomyces spp. Result: Final body weight, average daily gain and feed: gain in the pig group that received YC in both growth phases of the piglets were a significant increase (P less than 0.05) rather than control. On the other hand, the addition of YC to the diet significantly (P less than 0.05) decreased Coliform and E. coli in faecal. It can be concluded that the addition of 0.20% YC to piglet feed can stimulate growth and suppress pathogenic bacteria (E. coli and Coliform).