Fish oil, spray-dried plasma provide heightened immune response in weaned piglets

June 24, 2005 — Grant N. Burcham (ed. Eric van Heugten)
  [ES]

The period between weaning and one month of age, when a piglet's immune system becomes fully functional, can prove to be a difficult time for producers and animals alike. In addition to the lack of maternal antibodies, piglets eat less and grow more slowly post-weaning. Disease susceptibility at this age leads many producers to feed low levels of antibiotics to compensate for decreased immune function. Recent research focusing on nutritional supplementation suggests that two potential feed additives--fish oil and spray-dried plasma--might help piglets survive the post-weaning period, with increased feed consumption and growth rate.

Researchers Jeff Carroll, then with the Animal Physiology Research Unit in Columbia, MIssouri, and Gary Allee, with the University of Missouri, challenged two groups of three-week old piglets with E. coli endotoxin. Those pigs with fish oil-enriched feed continued eating well and performed better than those fed a control diet. In a similar experiment, spray-dried plasma increased feed intake and growth rate in weaned piglets as compared to animals fed a control diet. A comparison of the two supplements yields evidence that plasma helps pigs perform better than fish oil.

Carroll, now at the Livestock Issues Research Unit in Lubbock, Texas, continues to search for other dietary supplements that can help producers bridge the gap between maternal immunity and individual immunity. In the future, perhaps these supplements can replace antibiotics in the post-weaning period.

Original story:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/ha/han22.htm