Growth Permission
Improving enteric health introduced the idea of genetic growth potential, and discussed the impact of poor enteric health on productivity. Giving pigs “permission” to reach more of their potential offers a proven method to reduce costs and improve productivity.
Genetic potential
The potential growth rate of a pig can be expressed graphically with a protein accretion (PA) curve. This curve relates lean growth rate, the “output” of a pig, and nutrient intake, the “input”. As nutrient intake increases, so will lean growth, up to a point of diminishing returns at the peak rate of lean growth. When net nutrient intake is reduced or out of balance (sliding down the PA curve), lower lean gain results.
With significant pathology such as clinical disease, potent chemicals called cytokines are released. These have profound impacts on the immune system, feed intake, and growth. The PA curve may even shift down, lowering the potential for growth, perhaps permanently damaging growth rate. Not only do costs increase with treatments, death loss, and more days to market, the “output” of the group declines.
Fewer pounds are available to sell, and more pigs miss the top marketing brackets. More cull pigs can significantly lower total revenue. To add insult to financial injury, greater contamination of the barn occurs, which can increase the risk of disease in following groups of pigs.
Non-stop growth performance
Good management and solid disease protection allows pigs to grow through this disease exposure, minimizing loss. Fewer clinical signs are seen, and less treatment is needed. Pigs grow faster without the need for ongoing medication in feed or water, making it easier to follow proper withdrawal times. Subsequent production groups benefit from less contamination of the barn environment.
When management methods alone aren't sufficient to improve enteric health, producers have several vaccines proven to reduce the impact of ileitis and Salmonella. Enterisol
Don't let poor enteric health slow down your pigs. The impact of diseases like Salmonella and ileitis can be effectively controlled with management and immunization. Non-stop growth is the result when enteric health is maximized.
Application
Feed budgets and growth curves
Feed budgets are a fundamental tool to improve performance and reduce feed costs in growing pigs. A predetermined amount of each ration is fed, based on the number of pigs present and a growth curve. This simple program prevents over-feeding of more complex, expensive rations by feeding only a set number of pounds of each diet. Only the final, least expensive ration is fed continuously until pigs go to market. Also called phase feeding, it allows for pulsed medications to be easily integrated into specific rations in a feeding program. Talk to your nutritionist or local feed sales representative to learn more about feed budgeting.
More information
Protein and lipid accretion in body compartments of growing pigs: effect of body weight and nutrient intake. Bikker, P. PhD. Thesis. 1994. www.wau.nl