Addition of different probiotics to commercial feeds for piglets during the nursery phase

• Main Authors: Newton Tavares Escocard de Oliveira, Paulo Levi de Oliveira Carvalho, Jansller Luiz Genova, Eliseu Carlos Cristofori, Fábio Henrique Rodrigues Silveira, Osiris Antunes de Caxias Junior, Ana Lúcia Almeida Santana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Estadual de Londrina 2019-05-01
• Series: Semina: Ciências Agrárias
• Subjects: Additives; Growth performance; Lactobacillus; Microbiology; Saccharomyces; Yeast.
• Online Access: http://www.uel.br/revistas/uel/index.php/semagrarias/article/view/33416
• ISSN: 1676-546X; 1679-0359

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of the addition of different probiotics to commercial diets for piglets on diet digestibility, total bacterial count (TBC) of faeces, Clostridium count and growth performance. In the digestibility assay, 24 entire male pigs with an average initial body weight of 18.8 ± 0.87 kg were housed individually in metabolism cages and distributed in a completely randomised experimental design; this consisted of three treatments (probiotic-free commercial feed; commercial feed with the addition of 0.2% probiotic containing a blend of microorganisms; commercial feed with the addition of 0.1% yeast-based probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii) and eight replicates. The digestibility of the feeds was determined. At the end of the experiment, 25 grams of faeces were collected for microbiological analysis. In the subsequent experiment, 150 crossbred piglets (entire males and females), weaned at 21 days of age and having an average initial body weight of 6.81 ± 0.71 kg were distributed in a randomised complete block design, with six treatments repeated twice in the first and thrice in the second block, totaling five replicates and five pigs per experimental unit. The treatments, arranged in a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement, consisted of a combination of the three experimental diets used in the digestibility test and two genders. The growth performance in the nursery was evaluated during the following phases: pre-starter I (21 to 29 days), pre-starter I and II (21 to 40 days) and the total period (21 to 63 days). There was an effect (p < 0.05) of the diets on the digestible protein and the logarithm of the TBC. There was no effect (p > 0.05) of the interaction or the diets on the growth performance of the pigs in any of the phases. Both in the entire experimental period and in the pre-starter I and II phases, male pigs presented better feed conversion (p < 0.05) than females. There was an improvement in the apparent digestibility of the crude protein of the feed when the pigs were fed commercial feed containing probiotics. Pigs fed commercial feed containing probiotics based on yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii presented a reduced TBC in their faeces. Commercial feed containing probiotics did not influence the growth performance parameters of nursery phase piglets.