PSIII-7 Evaluation of Agolin-Pig on Sow and Piglet Performance During Lactation

Abstract

Abstract Essential oils are being introduced in swine diets as an alternative to antibiotic usage. The objectives of this preliminary study were to determine the effects of Agolin-Pig, a combination of micro-encapsulated essential oils, on sow feed intake, sow health and body condition, piglet growth performance, and future evaluation of microbiota structure. The experimental design consisted of 26 sows randomly allotted to either control (n = 13) or treatment groups (n = 13). Both groups consumed diets that met NRC standards (NRC, 2012), with the treatment group receiving 200 ppm of Agolin-Pig in a premix made in-house for 2 weeks pre-farrowing, and throughout farrowing and lactation. Sow average daily feed intake (ADFI) and piglet average daily gain (ADG) were recorded and calculated to monitor effects of Agolin-Pig. Sow body weights, body condition scores (BCS), and Knauer Sow Caliper measurements were collected at the start of the trial, 1-week post-farrowing, and at weaning to determine the change in sow body condition during lactation. All data were analyzed using PROC Mixed procedure in SAS 9.4 (Cary, North Carolina) with treatment, week, and parity (P1 vs P≥2) as main effects, repeated measures of sows and piglets, and number nursed used as a covariate where appropriate. All sows significantly increased ADFI (P = 0.0001) between weeks 1, 2, and 3 as expected during lactation, regardless of treatment. There was no significant impact of Agolin-Pig treatment on sow ADFI and piglet ADG. Piglets significantly increased ADG each week for 3 weeks (P ± 0.0001). During lactation, Agolin-Pig significantly reduced the loss of body condition as measured by the caliper (P = 0.028). Calipers are proven to detect changes in body condition more accurately than visual, subjective BCS, indicating that the caliper identifies a reduction in body condition that may have been missed by BCS or weight change altered by lactation. The gilts in the control group tended to show a reduction in BCS compared with sows in the control group (P = 0.074). In comparison, there was no significant difference in BCS between gilts and sows in the Agolin-Pig treated group suggesting that Agolin-Pig is effective at reducing the loss of BCS in gilts during lactation. Current analysis of fecal microbiota and milk composition may give greater insight on the effects of Agolin-Pig on sows. Overall, Agolin-Pig was effective at reducing the loss of body condition during lactation, as measured by the caliper. Additionally, Agolin-Pig tended to reduce the difference in loss of body condition of gilts compared with the control group. The findings of this pilot study warrant future studies with greater sample size to determine the efficacy of Agolin-Pig on reducing body condition loss and impacting other performance measures during lactation in sows.