Effects of rearing environment, zinc oxide and butyrate upon gut structure in the newly weaned pig

Abstract

Outdoor reared pigs are said to suffer from less of a growth check post weaning than their indoor reared counterparts, Payne et.al (2003). Zinc oxide (ZnO) is often used to reduce the incidence of post weaning scours and the use of sodium butyrate as an additive in weaner pig diets has been shown to improve some aspects of small intestine structure (Miller et.al, 2006). The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effects of butyrate supplemented weaner diets with or without a ZnO background (3.1 or 0g/kg ZnO) upon gut structure immediately post weaning in both indoor and outdoor reared pigs. We hypothesised that piglets reared outside would have a more developed gut than indoor reared pigs when weaned at 4 weeks and that the presence of ZnO and butyrate would further enhance gut development.