Use of soluble spray dried porcine plasma in the water supply enhances piglet growth and intestinal integrity post weaning

Abstract

A number of antibiotic growth promoters commonly used in EU pig diets have recently been banned following increasing public concern about antibiotic resistance and residues in meat products. Consumer and retail pressure has led to calls for research to identify alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters. It is therefore appropriate to investigate the use of feed ingredients which promote growth and intestinal health for the newly weaned piglet. Piglets which receive diets containing spray dried porcine plasma (SDPP) in the first week after weaning usually show improved feed intakes and growth rates when compared to piglets receiving conventional skim milk based starter diets (Toplis and Miller, 1999). The aim of this experiment was to determine whether similar improvements in piglet performance could be achieved when piglets received a soluble form of SDPP in their water supply instead of in the feed. In addition we investigated whether supplementation of the water supply of piglets already receiving a plasma containing diet further improved their post weaning performance. Although commonly used in Europe SDPP is currently excluded from piglet diets in the UK.