PSVI-18 Tonisity Pxw Improves Water Intake and Reduces Pig Mortality and Fall-Behinds Post-Weaning–A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this study was to assess the effects of Tonisity PxW (Tonisity Inc., St. Joseph, MO, USA) on pig post-weaning water intake, nursery mortality and fall-behinds. Tonisity PxW is a water-soluble supplement containing essential gut-enhancing amino-acids and electrolytes. This meta-analysis included 31,861 pigs from 7 commercial USA wean-finish farms. Piglets were weaned at 16-23 d and traveled to the weaner farm for 3-15 hours. Pigs were randomly allocated to treatment, with each of the treatments receiving either Tonisity PxW or plain water (Control). Separate water meters were installed for each treatment. Tonisity PxW was administered to pigs ad libitum through the waterlines, at a 0.2%-0.1%-0.1%-0.05%-0.05% concentration on d 1-2-3-4-5 post-weaning.5-day water intake data was available for all farms (N = 70 data points). Three-week mortality and fall-behind data was available for 3 (N = 15,286 pigs) and 4 (N=17,070 pigs) of the farms, respectively. Water intake data was analyzed using SAS 9.4 PROC MIXED, as repeated-measures, with treatment as a fixed effect, day as a repeated variable and study as random. Water intake data is presented as LSM±SEM. Mortality and fall-behinds were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test. Differences were considered significant at P ≤ 0.05.The PxW pigs had a 1.7x greater water intake than Controls, on average, over the 5 d post-weaning (0.78±0.10 L/pig vs 0.46±0.10 L/pig; P < 0.001) (Table 1). Compared with Controls, the Tonisity PxW group had 36% less mortality (2.3% vs 3.6%; P < 0.0001), and 18% fewer fall-behinds (10.1% vs 12.3%; P < 0.0001). Pigs given Tonisity PxW had significantly less mortality, fewer fall-behinds, and greater water intake compared with pigs given only water in the first 5 d post-weaning.