How to build a good intestinal response for piglets?
People have a wide interest in improving natural nutrition strategies to promote intestinal health and development of young pigs. The purpose is to maximize the lifelong growth performance of piglets and reduce the use of antibiotics.
But what exactly does the word "intestinal health" mean? The common criteria for evaluating the intestinal health of piglets are: effective digestion and absorption of feed; Stable and appropriate microbial population; Effective intestinal immune system; No disease; It has protective and functional intestinal barrier.
If the intestines of piglets are not healthy and can not play the best function, their overall health, welfare and performance will be affected, and finally their economic benefits will be affected.
Therefore, breeders need to promote the establishment of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract of piglets and optimize the intestinal structure to ensure effective nutrient absorption and support the immune system, because these aspects are intrinsically related to intestinal health.
1. Early nutrition of piglets
In the past 40 years, Alltech has conducted extensive research on the intestinal health of monogastric animals and designed several intestinal health management plans to focus on supporting the performance of animals from birth by promoting the proliferation of favorable bacterial communities, establishing natural defense systems and maximizing growth.
"Seeds, feed, weeds" ("SFW") is such a plan, which aims to change the composition of intestinal microbial population after birth, so as to establish a favorable and more diversified microbial population after birth. It is essential to establish and maintain a beneficial and diverse intestinal microbiota as soon as possible after pig birth. This is because the first microorganisms settled in the intestine will affect the growth performance and health of pigs in the future. The SWF program supports intestinal health in piglets in three different ways.
1.1 Implantation of beneficial microorganisms into the intestine of piglets
This is a crucial "seed". The first batch of microorganisms settled in the intestine of piglets determine the composition of intestinal flora in the future. With the establishment of intestinal microbial system, the early growth, feed conversion, growth uniformity and livability of piglets were improved.
1.2 Feeding beneficial organisms
In addition to the implantation of probiotics in the intestine of piglets, it is also important to improve the colonization ability of probiotics and the ability to quickly control the microbial community in the small intestine.
Once the probiotic community and intestinal ecosystem are established, intestinal villi will thrive. This is very important for the health of piglets and feed conversion rate, because the healthier the intestinal villi of piglets, the higher the efficiency of nutrient absorption.
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1.3 Eliminate harmful microorganisms
The intestine may also contain harmful pathogenic microorganisms (such as enterotoxin producing Escherichia coli), which can damage intestinal villi. Therefore, it is important to "eliminate" them before they attach to the intestinal wall and replicate enough to cause disease. Through the use of type 1 pili blocker, the adhesion mechanism of harmful microorganisms is blocked, and its ability to compete with beneficial bacteria in the intestine (such as bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus) is reduced. Minimizing intestinal contact with these harmful microorganisms will help to improve the natural defense ability of animals and shorten the time of recovery from diseases.
2 Ensuring improved intestinal health
SFW's "weeds" are an integral part of ensuring the improvement of intestinal health and immune status of piglets, accounting for 80% of the effectiveness of the program. Feed ingredients incorporated into the SFW program, such as activen (Alltech), have been shown to help maintain intestinal health and maintain the normalization of intestinal flora. This in turn may help to reduce the risks associated with the development of antimicrobial resistance. Recent research data show that SFW regimen helps to reduce the adhesion of E. coli and Salmonella Dublin to pig intestinal cells.
In addition, SFW regimen can directly reduce the inflammatory markers of infection by reducing the attachment of Escherichia coli and Salmonella to intestinal cells. At present, zinc oxide (ZnO) in feed is used to inhibit the growth of intestinal pathogens. However, the EU pig industry will ban the use of zinc oxide from 2022. It is very urgent to establish a healthy intestine of pigs to reduce pathogen load - SFW plan may help manufacturers move towards zinc oxide free pig production system.
3 Stress factors
Piglet weaning is the most challenging event in modern pig production because piglets are simultaneously affected by various stress factors (for example, sudden changes from breast milk to solid feed; new environment; mixed herd; separation from sows) . Due to the reduced energy intake when adapting to solid feed, the intestinal physiology of newly weaned piglets undergoes drastic changes, the small intestinal villi are atrophy, and the crypts proliferate.
Some studies have shown that by adding the above feed ingredients to the piglet's diet, the intestinal structure of the piglet after weaning is significantly improved. Therefore, nutrient absorption and utilization are increased, which contributes to piglet weight gain and feed conversion efficiency improvement. Therefore, if people can support the intestinal morphology through natural nutrient solutions, the digestion, absorption and secretion capacity of pigs’ intestines will be improved, which will help reduce the negative impact of weaning on pig health, growth and profitability.
4 Conclusion
Early nutrition is essential to achieve optimal piglet performance and health. Alltech's SFW program affects the intestinal health of piglets, microbial diversity and intestinal structure. This is essential for piglets to ensure that producers obtain the best lifetime performance and profitability in a sustainable manner. This piglet intestinal health management program will also help producers achieve antibiotic free and zinc oxide free pig production.
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