How to prevent diarrhea in piglets? Increasing feed nutrition is key (3)
Preventing piglet diarrhea by increasing feed nutrition (3)
The source and level of protein in the piglet diet directly affect piglet diarrhea. Weaned piglets adapt well to animal proteins (fish meal, blood meal), but adapt poorly to plant proteins. The digestive tract and its enzyme system of early-weaned piglets are not yet fully developed (Pekas, 1991), and protein secretion in the digestive tract does not reach its peak until 5-6 weeks of age (Corring et al., 1978).
Ampson, (1996) and Kelly (1990) showed thatsoybeanprotein is associated with intestinal damage and diarrhea in piglets. The piglet's need for protein is essentially a need for amino acids, and piglet diarrhea can be prevented by adjusting the amino acid level in the diet. Liu Tao et al. (1999) added 1% glutamine to the diet of weaned piglets, and the test results showed that it could significantly reduce the frequency of diarrhea in piglets (P<0.01)。
Dong Guozhong et al. (1995) reported that a low-protein amino acid-balanced diet could significantly reduce post-weaning diarrhea in piglets and improve piglet performance. Zhang Xiaoqiang et al. (2002) found that a low-protein amino acid-balanced diet could significantly reduce post-weaning diarrhea in piglets and increase piglet growth rate, and that the optimal content of the first limiting amino acid, lysine, in the diet was 1.65%-1.80%.
Early studies have reported the effects of different protein and lysine levels in the diet on the morphology of the small intestinal membrane tissue, and pointed out that this is related to post-weaning diarrhea in piglets (Hou et al., 998). The crude protein level in the creep feed of piglets affects the incidence of post-weaning diarrhea (Daielsen, 1984; Prohaszka and Bron, 1980).
Hou Shuiqing et al. (1999) found in experiments that when the protein level in the diet was higher (20%), the diarrhea rate of piglets increased. Dong Guozhong et al. (1996) showed that balancing dietary amino acids to lower the crude protein level could reduce protein putrefaction in the colon and post-weaning diarrhea in piglets. Lu Jianxiong et al. (2001) also obtained similar results.