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Manitoba Swine Seminar Liquid Diets for Young Pigs:

A “Solution” for Post-Weaning Morbidity and Mortality1 Jack Odle and Robert Harrell Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 Defining the problem of piglet morbidity and mortality Despite concerted research efforts, piglet morbidity and mortality remain as significant problems for the swine industry. This is well illustrated in statistics reported by the most recent National Swine Surveys conducted by the USDA National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS, 1997, 2000). These surveys documented little if any improvement in piglet mortality rates (farrowing and nursery phases) during the past 10 years, which were reported to average about 13% of live births. The predominant causes of mortality following “crushing by the dam” were identified by producers as “starvation” and “diarrhea” (Table 1). Problems persist despite increases in the use of injectable antibiotics by surveyed producers. Assessing the problem of poor piglet growth (morbidity) is more difficult, but it likely contributes as much or more to low economic returns for pork-production enterprises. Losses take the form of poor feed conversion efficiency, higher medication costs and increased variation in days-to-market weight which can result in significant penalties imposed by packers for light-weight animals (eg., sort loss). Another important trend documented in the NAHMS surveys is the trend for a reduction in age at weaning from 28 days in 1990 to 19 days in 2000, with 15% of pigs being weaned at <16 days of age. The downward trend reflects (in part) the advent and implementation of segregated early weaning (SEW) strategies wherein some pigs may be weaned as early as 10 days of age. Reducing age at weaning has the potential of improving production efficiency insofar as the farrowing interval of sows is reduced (increasing pigs/sow/year) and disease transfer from sow to piglet may be reduced. However, if improperly managed, problems of increased post-weaning morbidity can offset potential gains (Loula and Tiorrison, 2000). Conceptually, when SEW practices are combined with all-in-all-out management of farrowing facilities (Figure 1A) some pigs may be weaned as early as 7-10 days of age and morbidity can be greatly exacerbated. Even with the best phase-feeding program, containing the highest quality ingredients, it is difficult to support optimal growth of these animals when diets are offered in dry form. ------------------------------------------- 1 Portions of this report have been previously published in the Proceedings of the 2001 Cornell Nutrition Conference and the 2003 Carolina Swine Nutrition Conference.

Given the sustained problem of high morbidity and mortality, and the attendant challenge of fostering sufficient intake of dry diets by young pigs, the goal of this presentation is to re-examine whether liquid diets, delivered via modern technology, might afford a viable solution. The interested reader may refer to other recent reviews of this subject (Odle & Harrell, 1998; Veum & Odle, 2001; Hansen, 2003; Cabrera, 2003; Harrell & Odle, 2003). Limitations to suckling piglet growth – an issue of nutrient supply vs demand Conventional wisdom regarding piglet management of 25 years ago advocated the introduction of creep feed beginning at about 3 weeks of piglet age (Pond & Maner, 1974), with the suggestion that at this age, sow milk production became inadequate to sustain maximal piglet growth. Indeed, using a novel sow milking device Garst et al. (1999) has recently confirmed that milk sow milk production peaks between 15 and 25 d of lactation. But what has been the impact of 25 years of selection pressure on lactational performance of maternal lines (Boyd et al., 2000) and on the concomitant growth potential of the young pigs? The question remains, “does sow milk production limit piglet growth?” or alternatively, “does piglet suckling drive determine sow milk production”? Extensive evidence (Boyd et al., 1995; Odle & Harrell, 1998 for reviews) documents that piglets given ad libitum access to manufactured liquid diets can grow up to 70% faster than sow-reared littermates. Such data imply that milk production by the sow constrains piglet growth (especially after the first week of lactation, Harrell et al. 1993). On the other hand, studies examining milk production by sows subject to nursing by multiple litters of pigs (Sauber et al, 1994) clearly show that maximal suckling stimulus results in greater milk production by 1.5-2 fold. Thus, is would appear that the piglet and the sow are co-limiting – both are capable of greater production but are coordinately regulated to a level beneath the maximum for either. An interesting behavioral approach to coordinately increase piglet growth and lactation performance involves efforts to increase suckling frequency (Stone et al., 1974; Nakamura et al.,1995). Nakamura and coworkers simply recorded sow and piglet vocalizations associated with suckling bouts. Under control conditions these bouts occur at >50 minute intervals. When the researchers played back the vocalizations at 40-minute intervals, suckling frequency was correspondingly increased, (milk production increased) and piglet growth increased resulting in a two-kg advantage in litter weaning weight after 4 wks of lactation. The influence of suckling stimulus has been confirmed in more recent work as well (Spinka et al., 1997; Auldist et al., 2000). Practical approaches to feeding liquid diets on a commercial scale University research conducted in the 1960's and 1970's spawned several milk-replacer feeding systems and management schemes for young pigs that were effective

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(see Veum & Odle, 2001 for review) within a university/academic setting. However, few of these schemes were adequately robust for application on a commercial scale. Indeed, excessive labor required to maintain adequate hygiene was prohibitive for many early systems. More recently, several systems have been developed for application under commercial farm conditions. Table 2 outlines several milk-replacer feeders that can be operated successfully on the farm. Least sophisticated are the KMR feeders marketed by Kane manufacturing. Marketed with either 4 or 8 pig slots per feeder, milk replacer is loaded into a gravity-flow hopper and pigs have continuous access to milk in the trough at the base. Sufficient milk must be loaded to last a prescribed interval of ad libitum access so acidified or otherwise stabilized milk-replacers are the best choice for this system to minimize microbial growth. Feeders must be manually cleaned on a daily basis. The Hydromix system of Big Dutchman, the Supp-Le-Mate system of Soppe Systems, the Babymix system by Fancom, and the Hampshire system all utilize a centralized, large batch/vessel of milk-replacer. The Hydromix and Babymix systems automatically reconstitute the milk replacer whereas the Supple-Le-Mate and Hampshire systems rely on hand mixing. All of these systems pump the milk replacer from the centralized batch/vessel to feeder cups/troughs located in the animal pens. The latter two recirculate the milk back to the centralized batch vessel. The Nursery-14 building marketed by Intensive Care Nurseries employees an automated mixing machine that combines dry milk replacer and water at prescribed ratios. The feeder maintains a small liquid milk-replacer hopper totaling 1-2 liters in volume. Automated sensors are designed to keep this hopper full of reconstituted milk. From this hopper, milk flows (under force of gravity) through small tubes to ceramic/metal nipples mounted within feeders in each pen. This system is marketed to include a complete nursery building wherein each of 6 pens (20pigs/ pen; 120 pigs total) is equipped with hot-box nesting area heated to 32 C and also a chilled feeding area (maintained at 17 C). The segregated temperature is designed by the manufacturer to limit excessive consumption of milk-replacer by the pigs by keeping the feeding area chilled to an uncomfortable level (specific research on this aspect is covered later). The final systems marketed by Gillis, Choretime Provimi and Arato have a similar design consisting of a small-round or linear feeder capable of accommodating about 15 pigs each. Dry milk-replacer is loaded into a central compartment in the feeder and the instrument is programmed to mix and dispense dry milk replacer and water at designated intervals, based on piglet appetite. All systems must be carefully sanitized at regular intervals to minimize microbial growth. Diets also have been developed containing formalin, chlorine or acid to reduce microbial growth. Another approach for farm application has been the use of fermented milk-replacer diets with the Hampshire system (Russell et al., 1996).

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Tremendous growth potential of liquid-fed pigs Pioneering research by Braude at co-workers in the 1970's, extended the artificial-rearing ideas initiated by Green et al. (1947) and demonstrated that milk-replacer fed pigs could grow at rates exceeding sow-suckled controls by greater than 60% (Braude et al., 1970). This impressive (and unrealized) growth potential of suckling pigs has been recently re-appreciated (Odle & Harrell 1998; Cabrera et al., 2003), especially when contrasted to the comparatively poor performance of early-weaned piglets given access to dry diets. Research in our laboratory has examined performance of pigs fed liquid diets using the Nursery-14 building describe previously (Zijlstra et al., 1996, Heo et al., 1999; Kim et al., 2001). The first of these experiments (Zijlstra et al., 1996) studied the growth of 18 d old pigs for one week. Animals (N = 48 total) were either left to suckle the dam (as positive controls, 6 pigs/litter), were offered milk-replacer ad libitum within the Nursery-14 facility or were weaned directly onto a conventional nursery and fed a dry commercial starter diet as a negative control. As illustrated in figure 2A, pigs fed milk replacer grew 2.8 fold faster than animals weaned onto dry feed and 63% faster than the sow-suckled controls. Examination of body composition showed that in addition to accreting more body fat, the milk-replacer fed pigs accreted about 10% more protein than sow-suckled controls. The accelerated growth was predicated on significantly greater feed intake (Figure 2B). Congruently, small intestinal villi length was significantly greater in milk-replacer fed pigs. The next series of experiments (Heo et al., 1999; table 3) compared the relative growth performance of pigs (N = 165) raised in the Nursery-14 facility, with the ambient (feeding area) temperature adjusted from 17 to 24 to 32 C. As noted previously, the segregated temperature design (32 C hotbox nesting areas with 17 C ambient temperature) of the facility was incorporated to protect from excessive consumption of milk replacer and scours which might ensue. As the temperature was increased, piglets spent more time outside of the heated nesting area and more time in the feeding area. Consequently, they consumed more feed and grew faster. (table 3). Diarrhea was not observed to be a problem. In criticism of our initial studies (described above), milk-replacer formulas were not nutritionally identical to the dry starter diets. In addition, effects of nursery environment were confounded with physical form of the diet (i.e., liquid vs dry). So, in the next study (Kim et al., 2001), pigs were removed from the sow at 11 d of age and were fed nutritionally identical diets in either liquid or dry form for 14 d. Furthermore, animals were housed either within a conventional hot nursery environment or in the segregated temperature environment of the Nursery 14 building (ambient temperature set at 24 C). The growth pattern of the pigs is illustrated in figure 3. Confirming results of Heo et al. (1999), the greatest differential between liquid and dry diets occurred at higher ambient temperature of the conventional hot nursery. Driven by higher feed

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intake, this amounted to a 2 kg elevation in body weight of the liquid-fed pigs by the end of the treatment period. These animals maintained their growth differential to market weight, reaching 210 kg 4 d sooner than dry-fed counterparts (Table 4). Using live ultrasound, no differences in lean mass accretion were detected throughout growing and finishing periods (data not shown). Optimization of diet formulations From investigations on the biology of piglet growth reported to date, it is convincingly clear that suckling pigs are constrained to growth rates beneath their biological potential. It appears that the physical form of the diet (liquid vs dry) has a large impact on voulentary feed intake in this young animal and subtantial and sustained growth advantages may be achieved when feed in offered in liquid form. As such, it would appear that at least a partial soulution to the problems of piglet morbidity and mortality may lie in the application of liquid feeding technology at a commercial level. A variety of feeding systems have been developed for on-farm delivery of liquid diets. Adoption of these technologies by the industry will obviously require an economically viable solution. The capital cost of the feeding systems combined with the expense of conventional milk-based ingredients currently limit widespread application. Future research efforts should be directed toward design of still better feeding devices and management schemes togehter with the exploration of more cost-effective diet ingredients. Regarding the latter, research from Braude and others from the 1970's has laid a foundation from which to build. Energy Sources for the Young Pig The first consideration, and physically the most difficult in liquid feeding systems, is the fat content. Sow’s milk contains approximately 50% of the calories as fat (Klobasa et al., 1987). Therefore, this suggests that the neonatal pig requires a high level of fat to perform adequately. Or alternatively, is the high level of fat a convenience for the sow to easily mobilize body fat reserves vs the much more difficult and limited storage of CHO and protein body reserves? Fat content of milk replacer. Studies in our laboratory have examined the differences in pig performance fed manufactured liquid diets of differing fat content (Oliver et al., 2003). Two replicates of 60 pigs (n=120; barrows and gilts distributed evenly) were weaned from the sow at 10 d of age. Pigs were blocked by weight and assigned to 1 of 6 pens (10 pigs/pen). Pigs were housed in the Nursery-14 building (described previously). Ambient temperature was maintained at approximately 24°C. Each pen was assigned to either a high (25%, HF) or low (2%, LF) fat diet. Diets were reconstituted at 150 g/L of water (approximately 12% dry matter) and were formulated such that the supply of amino acids per unit of energy was constant (Table 5). Diets were delivered via a gravity flow feeding system. Fresh diet was added twice daily (0800 and 2000) for nine days to ensure freshness and ad libitum access.

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Pigs gained 336 ± 9 g/d, which resulted in an ending body weight of 7228 ± 120 g (Table 6), regardless of dietary treatment. Pigs consuming the LF diet had 17% greater (2777 ± 67 dry matter/pen/d) ADFI, compared to pigs consuming the HF diet (2376 ± 67 g dry matter/pen/d). Estimated metabolizable energy (ME) intake did not differ. As a result of the changes in feed intake and no changes in ADG, feed conversion (gain:feed) was improved by 24 % in pigs fed HF compared to LF diets (Table 6). However, plasma urea nitrogen concentrations were 38 % lower in the LF fed pigs (6.8 mg/dL), compared to the HF fed pigs (10.9 mg/dL). The level of performance (336 g/d) in this experiment was consistent with previous research with manufactured liquid diets (Newport 1979; Heo et al., 1999), in that pigs in the current study performed superior to pigs typically reared on the sow (250 g/d; NRC, 1998). Increased growth of pigs reared independent of the sow could be accomplished with increased supply and(or) improved nutrient profile of manufactured liquid diet. However, pigs fed the HF or LF diets throughout the current study gained at similar rates (340 ± 9 and 332 ± 9 g/d, respectively), resulting in ending weights of 7270 ± 119 and 7185 ± 122 g, respectively. These data indicate that young pigs are capable of using either fat or carbohydrate equally well as the primary energy source for growth. In growing pigs, increased dietary energy concentration resulted in decreased feed intake, while metabolizable energy intake remains relatively constant (NRC, 1987). In addition, supplemental fat (10 %) decreased feed intake in nursery pigs (Li et al., 1990). However, Le Dividich et al. (1997) concluded that one-day old pigs did not respond to colostral energy concentration with increased feed intake. While pigs were not allowed ad libitum consumption of the diet, these results may still be accurate due to the limited gastric capacity of pigs at one-day of age. In the current experiment, 10-d old pigs that received the LF diet ad libitum consumed 17 % more feed, compared to HF fed pigs. Due to the differences in feed intake with no change in growth rate, feed conversion (gain:feed) was 24 % higher in HF compared to LF fed pigs. Plasma urea nitrogen concentration is an indirect measure of the extent of amino acid oxidation, and in the young growing animal that is actively accreting skeletal muscle it is a measure of the oxidation of dietary amino acids. Plasma urea nitrogen was higher in pigs consuming the HF diet, compared to pigs fed the LF diet. Plasma urea nitrogen concentrations were approximately 38 % lower in LF fed pigs, compared to HF fed pigs. Due to similar ME intakes between diets in the current experiment, pigs fed the HF and LF diets consumed similar amounts of CP because the diets were formulated to have a constant CP:ME. Therefore, these data suggest that pigs fed HF diets were oxidizing more dietary amino acids than LF fed pigs, and indicates that HF pigs were accruing less muscle and therefore more fat than pigs consuming the LF diet. In addition, Tikofsky et al. (2001) observed that bull calves fed a low fat (14.8 %) diet had higher empty body protein and lower empty body fat, compared to calves that consumed a similar amount of energy from a high fat (30.6 %) milk replacer. Although we did not measure effects on body composition, these data suggest the efficiency for amino acid use for protein accretion is higher in pigs consuming a LF diet compared to

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a HF diet. The specific effects of the utilization of fat vs carbohydrate on protein accretion was examined in a subsequent trial (see below, Mathews et al., 2002, unpublished data). Procedures, including dietary treatments were similar to those described above. However, pigs (n=6/treatment) were removed from the sow at approximately 2 days of age and remained on experimental diets (high (25%, HF) or low (2%, LF) for 16 days. Pigs were housed in individual cages and fresh manufactured liquid diet was offered 4X daily (0800, 1200, 1600, and 2200). At the completion of the feeding period, pigs were humanely euthanatized and the chemical composition of the carcasses was determined. Overall, the level of performance was higher (ie 410 vs 340 g/day) than the previous trial. This is likely due to differences in housing (single vs. group) and also length of duration on the sow, that has been shown to be a limit feeding system. In the present study (Table 7) pigs fed the LF diet consumed more diet, but not to the same extent as before. This resulted in pigs fed the LF diet to consume less dietary energy (data not presented) than pigs fed the HF diet. However, rates of gain were similar between the dietary treatments. As previously found, PUN levels were 34 % lower in pigs fed the LF diet compared to the HF diet. However, daily protein or water accretion was not affected by dietary energy source. Pigs fed the LF diet had approximately 19% lower fat accretion than pigs fed the HF diet. This is most likely explained by the reduced level of energy intake of pigs fed the LF diet. These results clearly show that the young pig responds to the energy density of the diet. Pigs that received LF compared to HF diets had increased feed intake and similar ME intake (dependent on trial), but resulted in similar rates of growth and protein accretion. These data suggest that feed manufacturers could alter dietary formulations for early-weaned pigs, depending on the availability and economics of dietary ingredients. Alternative carbohydrate sources for young pigs. Universal to mammalian species is the disaccharide, lactose. However, can alternative sources of carbohydrate be utilized as energy sources? Growth performance of young pigs (<14 d of age) fed diets formulated with traditional feedstuffs is generally poor (Kats et al., 1994; Nessmith et al., 1997). Inclusion of animal products (milk and blood sources) in the diet has improved pig performance (Kats et al., 1994). Carbohydrate sources have been evaluated as partial or total replacements to lactose in manufactured liquid diets for young pigs. Carbohydrate sources examined include glucose, sucrose, fructose, xylose, maltodextrin, cornstarch, and wheat starch. With the exception of glucose, these sources of carbohydrate resulted in lower growth performance compared to lactose. The objective of this experiment (Oliver et al., 2002) was to evaluate the nutritional value of partially hydrolyzed corn syrup solids (CSS) as total replacements for lactose in manufactured liquid diets. Pigs were placed in individual cages (length, .5 m; width, .3 m; and height, .4 m)

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in an environmentally controlled room (32° C) and trained to consume liquid diet from a gravity flow feeding system as described above. Forty-eight pigs were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments: 1) control with lactose as the carbohydrate source, 2) lactose replaced (g/g) with CSS {dextrose equivalent (DE) 20}, and 3) lactose replaced with CSS DE-42. Pigs were removed from the study at 10 and 20 day of treatment. Table 8 shows the composition and calculated analysis of the experimental diets. Diets were reconstituted at 150 g/L of water (approximately 12% dry matter), and were formulated such that 95% of the lactose in the control diet was from added lactose. This allowed for essentially total replacement of lactose (g/g) with starch from CSS {dextrose equivalents (DE) of either 42 or 20}. The DE is defined as the number of end dextrose units expressed as a percentage of the total dry substance. The partially hydrolyzed CSS diets contained only 2.0% lactose. Fresh manufactured liquid diet was added four times daily (0800, 1300, 1800, and 2300) to minimize spoilage and to ensure pigs had ad libitum access to the diet. Pigs gained 382 ± 14 g/d during the test period (Table 9), which resulted in pigs weighing 9,845 ± 191 g across all treatments by the end of the experiment. The replacement of lactose with partially hydrolyzed CSS (DE-42 and DE-20) did not affect growth rate, feed intake, or gain:feed for the entire 20-d experiment. No differences were observed in protein, lipid, or ash accretion rates between the dietary treatments (Table 10). No differences were found in water accretion rates, with the exception of the pigs fed CSS (DE-42) accruing less water from d 10 to d 20 than pigs fed either lactose or CSS (DE-20).Only minor changes in morphological measurements (villi height and crypt depth) of the small intestine (both jejunum and iliem) were observed. The replacement of lactose with CSS (DE-42 and DE-20) did not alter lactase specific activity on either day 10 or d 20 of treatment. No differences were observed in jejunal lactase activity between d 0, d 10 or d 20, regardless of dietary treatment. Ileal lactase specific activity did not change from d 0 to d 10, but decreased approximately 50% by d 20. No differences were observed in maltase activity on d 10 or d 20, regardless of dietary treatment or intestinal location. In all pigs, maltase specific activity increased from d 0 to d 10, with a further increase from d 10 to d 20. Maltase activity increased approximately 14 fold and 10 fold in the jejunum and ileum, respectively, from mucosa collected at d 0 compared to d 20. There were no differences observed in oligosaccharidase activity for d 10 or d 20, regardless of dietary treatment or intestinal location. Jejunal oligosaccharidase increased from d 0 to d 10, and further increased to d 20. No difference was observed in ileal oligosaccharidase activity between d 0 to d 10, but increases were similar to that of the jejunal oligosaccharidase activity from d 0 to d 20. Oligosaccharidase specific activity from a short (4-6 glucose units) oligosaccharide substrate was essentially identical to oligosaccharidase activity from the long (22-24 glucose units) substrate reported above.

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Overall, the replacement of lactose with CSS did not affect growth performance, ADFI, or G/F. However, pigs fed lactose had greater growth performance from 10 to 20 d of the study. Also, pigs fed CSS had similar whole body accretion rates of protein, water, lipid and ash as those pigs that were fed lactose. In previous studies, performance of pigs fed starch as the primary carbohydrate source has not equaled that of pigs fed lactose, glucose, or pigs reared on the sow (Mateo and Veum 1980; Veum and Mateo 1981).

Small intestinal morphology has typically been used as an estimate of intestinal health in pigs (Argenzio et al., 1990; Li et al., 1990; Zijlstra et al., 1996). In the current study, jejunal and ileal villi height averaged approximately 0.91 ± 0.03 and 0.72 ± 0.02 mm, respectively, regardless of dietary treatment, which was shorter than d 0 pigs. Also, crypt depths increased from 0.18 ± 0.01 mm on d 0 to an average of 0.2 ± 0.01 mm on d 10 and d 20 for all treatments. Increased crypt depth could indicate an increase in mitotic activity in the crypt due to intestinal distress (Argenzio et al., 1990). Similar crypt depths have been reported in other studies (Pluske et al., 1996) as found in pigs in the present study. However, the level of performance of the pigs in the present study indicates sufficient intestinal health for optimized growth.

Intestinal lactase activity is high at birth and reaches maximum activity at approximately one week of age in pigs (Ekstrom et al., 1975), and is consistent with performance of neonatal pigs fed lactose in manufactured liquid diets. As previously mentioned, pigs fed starch in manufactured liquid diets have not performed well (Leibholz 1982), presumably because of the neonatal pig’s enzymatic insufficiency to hydrolyze the polysaccharides to free glucose. In the current study, the replacement of lactose with CSS did not affect lactase, maltase, or oligosaccharidase activities. Comparatively, similar aged sow-reared pigs have two to three fold greater lactase specific activity, but approximately 50% of the maltase and oligosaccharidase activity, of pigs in the present study (data not shown).

Maltase activity increases sharply in pigs after approximately one week of age (Aumaitre and Corring 1978). The current study agrees with these findings, particularly in the ileum where maltase activity rose from d 0 to d 20, regardless of dietary treatment. Physiological adaptation to starch based diets in the way of increased enzyme activity has been observed (Shields et al., 1980). However, for neonatal pigs our data suggest that the temporal increase in maltase activity is similar for pigs fed lactose and CSS. Similar to maltase, oligosaccharidase activity was not affected by dietary treatment, and the activity increased with age. Most dietary oligosaccharides require a full complement of enzymes, collectively called oligosaccharidases, to be fully digested before absorption. These enzymes, including glucoamylase and the double molecule sucrase-isomaltase, reside on the brush border of the small intestine (Lorenzsonn et al., 1987; Naim et al., 1988). The activities of these enzyme systems increase with age (Gray 1992). The current experiment agrees with these data, in that neonatal pigs appear to be more proficient in utilizing more complex diets with increasing age. However, oligosaccharidase activity was unaffected by feeding CSS,

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suggesting that pigs fed lactose have the ability to utilize more complex diets.

Overall, the replacement of lactose with partially hydrolyzed CSS did not affect growth performance, dry matter digestibility of the diets, PUN concentration, intestinal morphological measurements, or enzyme activity. The use of CSS can provide an alternative to lactose in manufactured liquid diets.

References Auldist, D.E., D. Carlson, L. Morrish, C.M. Wakeford and R.H. King. 2000. The influence of suckling interval on milk production of sows. J. Anm. Sci. 78:2026-2031. Argenzio, R. A., J. A. Liacos, M. L. Levy, D. J. Meuten, J. G. Lecce and D. W. Powell. 1990. Villous atrophy, crypt hyperplasia, cellular infiltration, and impaired glucose-Na absorption in enteric cryptosporidiosis of pigs. Gastroenterology 98(5 Pt 1): 1129-40. Aumaitre, A. and T. Corring. 1978. Development of digestive enzymes in the piglet from birth to 8 weeks. II. Intestine and intestinal disaccharidases. Nutr Metab 22(4): 244-55. Braude, R., K. G. Mitchell, M. J. Newport & J. W. G. Porter. 1970. Artificial rearing of pigs 1. Effects of frequency and level of feeding on performance and digestion of milk proteins. Br. J. Nutr. 24:501-516. Boyd, R.D., K.J. Touchette, G.C. Castro, M.E. Johnston, K.U. Lee and I.K. Han. 2000. Recent advances in amino acid and energy nutrition of prolific sows. Asian-Aus. J. Anim. Sci. 13:1638-1652. Boyd, R.D., R.S. Kensinger, R.J. Harrell and D.E. Bauman. 1995. Nutrient uptake and endocrine regulation of milk synthesis by mammary tissue of lactating sows. J. Anim. Sci. 73(Supplement 2):36-56. Cabrera, R., R. D. Boyd and J. Vignes. 2003. Proc. Carolina Swine Nutr. Conf., October 29, 2003. Pp. 15-24. Ekstrom, K. E., N. J. Benevenga and R. H. Grummer. 1975. Changes in the intestinal lactase activity in the small intestine of two breeds of swine from birth to 6 weeks of age. J Nutr 105(8): 1032-8. Garst, A.S., S.F. Ball, B.L. Williams, C.M. Wood, J.W. Knight, H.D. Moll, C.H. Aardema and F.C. Gwazdauskas. 1999. Technical Note: Machine milking of sows – lactational milk yield and litter weights. J. Anim. Sci. 77:1620-1623. Gray, G. M. 1992. Starch digestion and absorption in nonruminants. J Nutr 122(1): 172-7.

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Green, W.W., H.H. Brugman and L.M. Winters. 1947. Artificial rearing of baby pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 6:146-153. Hansen, J. A. 2003. Small pig technology: Is it right for you?. Proc. Carolina Swine Nutr. Conf., October 29, 2003. Pp. 1-6. Harrell, R. J. and J. Odle. 2003. Small pig technology: Nutritional aspects. Proc. Carolina Swine Nutr. Conf., October 29, 2003. Pp. 7-13. Harrell, R. J., M. J. Thomas & R. D. Boyd. 1993. Limitations of sow milk yield on baby pig growth. Proc. Cornell Nutr. Conf., Ithaca, NY. pp 156-164. Harrell, R. J., O. Phillips, D. L. Jerome, R. D. Boyd, D. A. Dwyer and D. E. Bauman. 2000. Effects of conjugated linoleic acid on milk composition and baby pig growth in lactating sows. J. Anim. Sci. 78 (Suppl 1):137. Heo, K.N., J. Odle, W. Oliver, J.H. Kim, I.K. Han and E. Jones. 1999. Effects of milk replacer and ambient temperature on growth performance of 14-day-old early-weaned pigs. Asain-Austr. J. Anim. Sci. 12:12:980-913. Kats, L. J., J. L. Nelssen, M. D. Tokach, R. D. Goodband, T. L. Weeden, S. S. Dritz, J. A. Hansen and K. G. Friesen. 1994. The effects of spray-dried blood meal on growth performance of the early-weaned pig. J Anim Sci 72(11): 2860-9. Kim, J.H., K.N. Heo, J. Odle, I.K. Han and R.J. Harrell. 2001. Liquid diets accelerate the growth of early-weaned pigs and the effects are maintained to market weight. J. Anim. Sci. 79:427-434. Klobasa, F., E. Werhahn and J. E. Butler. 1987. Composition of sow milk during lactation. J. Anim. Sci. 64:1458-1466. Le Dividich, J., P. Herpin, E. Paul and F. Strullu. 1997. Effect of fat content of colostrum on voluntary colostrum intake and fat utilization in newborn pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 75:707-713. Leibholz, J. 1982. Wheat starch in the diet of pigs between 7 and 28 days of age. Anim Prod 35: 199-207. Li, D. F., R. C. Thaler, J. L. Nelssen, D. L. Harmon, G. L. Allee and T. L. Weeden. 1990. Effect of fat sources and combinations on starter pig performance, nutrient digestibility and intestinal morphology. J. Anim. Sci. 68:3694-3704. Loula, T. and J. Torrison. 2000. Benefits and challenges of early weaned pigs. Nat. Hog Farmer. (blueprint) No. 21:6-8. Lorenzsonn, V., H. Korsmo and W. A. Olsen. 1987. Purification and characterization of a pig intestinal alpha-limit dextrinase. Gastroenterology 92: 98-105.

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Mateo, J. P. and T. L. Veum. 1980. Utilization of glucose, sucrose and corn starch with isolated soybean protein by 15-day-old pigs reared artificially. Nutr. Rep. Int. 22:419. NAHMS. 1997. Changes in the U.S. Pork Industry. National Animal Health Monitoring System, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services. United States Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C. pp 10-13. NAHMS. 2000. Part 1. Reference of swine health and management in the United States. National Animal Health Monitoring System, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Veterinary Services. United States Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C. pp 14-16. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/cahm/Swine/Swine2000/finalswoodes1.pdf Naim, H. Y., E. E. Sterchi and M. J. Lentze. 1988. Structure, biosynthesis, and glycosylation of human small intestinal maltase-glucoamylase. J Biol Chem 263: 19709-17. Nakamura, M., T. Nemoto and T. Saito. 1995. Artificial increase in suckling frequency of piglets due to recorded grunting and suckling sounds. J. Anim. Sci. 73 (Supplement 1):130. Nessmith, W. B., Jr., J. L. Nelssen, M. D. Tokach, R. D. Goodband, J. R. Bergstrom, S. S. Dritz and B. T. Richert. 1997. Evaluation of the interrelationships among lactose and protein sources in diets for segregated early-weaned pigs. J Anim Sci 75(12): 3214-21. Newport, M. J. 1979. Artificial rearing of pigs. 8. Effect of dietary protein level on performance, nitrogen retention and carcass composition. Br. J. Nutr. 41:95-101. NRC. 1987. Predicting Feed Intake of Food-Producing Animals. National Acadamy Press, Washington, DC. NRC. 1998. Nutrient Requirement of Swine. 10th ed. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. Odle, J. and R.J. Harrell. 1998. Nutritional approaches for improving neonatal piglet performance: Is there a place for liquid diets in commercial production? Asain-Austr. J. Anim. Sci. 11:774-780. Odle, J. and R.J. Harrell. 1998. Nutritional approaches for improving neonatal piglet performance: Is there a place for liquid diets in commercial production? Asain-Austr. J. Anim. Sci. 11:774-780. Oliver, W.T., K.J. Touchette, C.S. Whisnant, J.A. Brown, S.A. Mathews, J. Odle, and R.J. Harrell. 2004. Pigs weaned from the sow at 10 days of age respond to dietary energy source of manufactured liquid diets and exogenous porcine somatotropin (pST). J. Anim. Sci. (in press). Oliver, W. T., S. A. Mathews, O. Phillips, E. E. Jones, J. Odle and R. J. Harrell. 2002. Efficacy of partially hydrolyzed corn syrup solids as a replacement for lactose in manufactured liquid diets for neonatal pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 80:143-153.

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Pluske, J. R., I.H. Williams, and F.X. Aherne. 1996. Villous height and crypt depth in piglets in response to increases in cows’ milk after weaning. Anim. Sci. 62:145. Pond, W.G. and J. H. Maner. 1974. In: Swine production in temperate and tropical environments. W.H. Freeman and Company, San Franciso. p. 155. Russell, P.J., T.M. Geary, P.H. Brooks and A. Campbell. 1996. Performance, water use and effluent output of weaner pigs fed ad libitum with either dry pellets or liquid feed and the role of microbial activity in the liquid feed. J. Sci. Food Agric. 72:8-16. Sauber, T.E., T.S. Stahly, R.C. Ewan and N.H. Williams. 1994. Maximum lactational capacity of sows with a high and low genetic capacity for lean tissue growth. J. Anim. Sci. 72 (Supplement 1):364. Shields, R. G., Jr., K. E. Ekstrom and D. C. Mahan. 1980. Effect of weaning age and feeding method on digestive enzyme development in swine from birth to ten weeks. J Anim Sci 50(2): 257-65. Stone, C.C., M.S. Brown and G.H. Waring. 1974. An ethological means to improve swine production. J. Anim. Sci. 39(Supplement 1):137. Spinka M., G. Illmann, B. Algers and Z. Stetkova. 1997. The role of nursing frequency in milk production in domestic pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 75:1223-1228. Tikofsky, J. N., M. E. Van Amburgh and D. A. Ross. 2001. Effect of varying carbohydrate and fat content of milk replacer on body composition of Holstein bull calves. J. Anim. Sci. 79:2260-2267 Veum, T.L. and J. Odle. 2001. Feeding neonatal pigs. Chapter 30. In: Swine Nutrition, second edition. (A.J. Lewis and LL. Southern, Eds.). CRC Press, New York, NY. pp. 671-690. Veum, T.L. and J.P. Mateo. 1981. Utilization of glucose, sucrose or corn starch with casein or isolated soybean protein supplemented with amino acids by 8-day-old pigs fed artificially. J. Anim. Sci. 53:1027. Zijlstra, R.T., K-Y. Whang, R.A. Easter and J. Odle. 1996. Effect of feeding a milk replacer to early-weaned pigs on growth, body composition and small intestinal morphology, compared with suckled littermates. J. Anim. Sci. 74:2948-2959.

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Figure 1. Panel A. Conceptual basis for high pig morbidity resulting from combined use of all-in-all-out and segregated early weaning management practices. Panel B. Illustration of compounded effect of poor growth in early life, resulting in ultimate sort loss and proposed solution afforded by feeding of liquid diets.

Combined Effects of SEW and AIAO Management: Increased weaning stress

SEW

Piglet Age:

LoadFarrowingHouse

Parturition EarlyWeaning

11 to 15 d

High Stress on youngest SEW pigsBottom ~ 15-20 %

0 to 4 d 18 to 22 d

Time

Bod

y W

eigh

t

Compounded Growth Divergence of Small SEW Pigs

“Sort Loss”

Large SEW

Liquid Fed

Small SEW

Page 14

Table 1. Causes of preweaning piglet deaths reported in two recent national surveys of the United States swine herd (NAHMS 1997, 2000). Cause of death 1990 Survey 1995 Survey 2000 Survey

Diarrhea 23.9 " 1.5 15.1 " 0.2 9.3 " 1.4

Crushing by dam 40.4 " 1.8 48.7 " 3.4 52.1 " 2.0

Starvation 20.4 " 1.1 20.5 " 2.7 16.7 " 2.1

Other known problem 9.0 " 1.8 6.6 " 1.0 14.5

Unknown problem 6.3 " 1.5 9.1 " 1.3 7.4 " 0.9

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Page 15

Table 2. Modern liquid-feeding systems available for piglets. Feeder name Company Feed supply

KMR Kane Manufacturing, DesMoines, IA 50317

Continuous

Nursery-14 Intensive Care Nursery, Colfax, IL 61728

Continuous

Supp-Le-Mate Soppe Systems, Manchester, IA 52057

Continuous

Hampshire system Hampshire Feeding Systems, Hampshire, UK

Continuous

Hydromix Big Dutchman International, Vechta, Germany

Intermittent

Baby-pig saver Gillis Agrisystems, Willmar, MN 56201

Intermittent

Porcimat Provimi B.V., Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Intermittent

Robomama Arato, Germany Omaha, NE or Raleigh, NC

Intermittent

Baby mix feeder

Fancom B.V. The Netherlands

Intermittent

Page 16

Figure 2. Liquid-feeding elevates feed intake and accelerates piglet growth, beyond sow-suckled littermates (from Zijlstra et al., 1996).

Piglet Age, Days14 16 18 20 22 24 26

Bod

y W

eigh

tK

g

3

4

5

6

7

8

Sow Suckled Liquid DietDry Diet

0

200

400 ADG, g

18-25 days

*

*

**

**

**

*

* ** * * *

*

Piglet Age, Days18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Dry

Mat

ter I

ntak

egr

ams/

pig/

day

100

200

300

400

Dry Diet

Average Liquid Diet DM Consumption = 345 g

Average Dry Diet DM Consumption = 145 g

Page 17

Table 3. Effect of milk replacer and ambient temperature on growth performance of early-weaned pigs in the postweaning period (d 14- d 21 of age; from Heo et al., 1999)a

Milk replacer Dry diet Trial I

Ambient temperature 17 oC 30 oC

Body weight, kg

Day 14 5.21"13 4.94"0.17

Day 21 7.60"0.19* 6.06"0.22

ADG, g 342"13* 160"16

ADFI, g 326 302

G/F, g/kg 1,049 530

Trial II

Ambient temperature 24 oC 30 oC

Body weight, kg

Day 14 4.83"0.16 4.82"0.18

Day 21 8.13"0.20* 6.32"0.20

ADG, g 471"12* 214"12

ADFI, g 401 288

G/F, g/kg 1,175 743

Trial III

Ambient temperature 32 oC 30 oC

Body weight, kg

Day 14 5.21"0.18 5.20"0.15

Day 21 7.76"0.21* 6.32"0.17

ADG, g 364"12* 160"10

ADFI, g 368 224

G/F, g/kg 989 714 a Values are mean " standard error * Differs from conventional nursery, P<0.001.

Page 18

Figure 4. Panel A. Growth acceleration of early-weaned pigs via liquid feeding produces gains that are maintained through subsequent growth periods. Panel B. Growth acceleration is largest immediately postweaning and declines with time. (from Kim et al., 2001).

Page 19 Time interval (d)

0 to 3 3 to 6 6 to 10 10 to 14

Ave

rage

dai

ly g

ain

(g)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600Liquid diet, Hot nurseryDry diet, Hot nurseryLiquid diet, Segregated temp. nurseryDry diet, Segregated temp. nursery

a

b

c

b

a

b

c

b

a

b

c

b

a

bc c

Time (d)0 3 6 9 12 15

4

6

8

10

12

0

5

10

15

20

25

30Liquid diet, hot nurseryDry diet, hot nurseryLiquid diet, segregated temp. nurseryDry diet, segregated temp. nursery

49

a

bc c*

******

***

****

Table 4. Growth performance of piglets fed either liquid or dry diets in different nursery environments during the first 2 weeks after weaning at 11 d of age (from Kim et al., 2001).

Conventional

Segregated-temperature

Nursery

SEM P value

Liquid Dry Liquid Dry Env. Diet E H D

D 0-143

ADG (g/day)

ADFI (g/day)

Gain/feed (g/kg)

774

1,760

439

745

1,689

441

763

1,715

446

747

1,685

443

6.3

12.9

2.3

NS

NS

NS

*

**

NS

NS

NS

NS

Age of pigs

at 110 kg 150.6 154.7 151.2 154.4 1.27 NS ** NS

** P<0.01, * P<0.05

Table 5. Composition and calculated analysis of the dietary treatmentsa Diet Item High Fat Low Fat Ingredients, % Non-fat dry milk 45.85 42.00 High fat sourceb 30.10 1.50 Lactose 0.00 39.70 Whey protein concentrate 6.00 4.00 Na caseinate 10.00 6.00 Arginine 0.30 0.22 L-Lysine·HCl 0.20 0.13 Xanthan gum 1.00 1.00 CaCO3 0.53 0.37 Dicalcium phosphate 3.75 2.81 Vitamin premix 0.13 0.13 Mineral premix 0.50 0.50 NaCl 0.88 0.88 MgSO4 0.20 0.20

KCl

0.56 0.56

Calculated analysisc ME, kcal/kg 4639 3481 CP, % 31.15 23.50 Fat, % 24.97 1.89 Lactose, % 25.78 60.61 Lysine, % 2.74 2.05 g Lysine/Mcal ME 5.9 5.9

aExpressed on a dry weight basis. b A blend of edible lard and fancy tallow (80% fat,; Fat Pak 80, Milk Specialties Corp., Dundee, IL 60118). cCalculated analysis based on analysis provided by companies furnishing product and standard feed tables (NRC, 1998).

Page 20

Table 6. Performance of pigs fed a high (25 %) or low (2 %) fat manufactured liquid diet from d 10 to 19 of age.a Diet Item High Fat Low Fat SEMb Significance Live Weight, g

d 10 4210 4212 96 >0.98

d 15 5656 5669 111 >0.93

d 19 7270 7185 122 >0.64

ADG, g/d d 10 to 15 289 291 10 >0.91

d 15 to 19 403 380 11 >0.22

d 10 to 19 340 332 9 >0.45 ADFI, gDM/pen/d d 10 to 15 1904 2242 84 <0.01 d 15 to 19 2965 3447 70 <0.01 d 10 to 19 2376 2777 87 <0.01 ME intake, Mcal/pen/d

d 10 to 15 8.8 7.8 0.4 >0.15 d 15 to 19 13.7 12 0.5 >0.10 d 10 to 19 11.0 9.7 0.5 >0.11 Gain/Feed

d 10 to 15 1.53 1.29 0.02 <0.001

d 15 to 19 1.36 1.08 0.03 <0.001

d 10 to 19 1.44 1.16 0.02 <0.001 aValues are least squares means; n = 6. b Standard error of the difference of the means.

Page 21

Table 7. Performance and plasma metabolite data from pigs fed either a high (25%) or low (3%) fat diet.1 Diet Item High fat Low fat SEM Significanc

e ADG, g/d 420 404 12 >.5 ADFI, g/d 337 367 12 <.01 PUN, mg/dl 28.8 19.0 2.0 <.01 Accretion rates, g/d Protein 80.5 84.1 4.0 >.8 Water 304.1 320.6 16.3 >.7 Fat 48.3 39.2 7.2 <.05 Ash 16.2 15.8 1.9 >.3 1n=6 pigs/treatment. Dietary treatments are similar to those described above. Mathews et al., 2002, unpublished data.

Page 22

Table 8. Composition and calculated analysis of the dietary treatmentsa Diet Item Lactose CSS (DE-42) b CSS (DE-20) b Ingredients, % Whey protein concentratec

14.05 14.05 14.05

High fat sourced 18.00 18.00 18.00 Na caseinatee 21.00 21.00 21.00 Lactosef 40.00 0.00 0.00 Corn syrup solids, DE-42g 0.00 40.00 0.00 Corn syrup solids, DE-20g 0.00 0.00 40.00 Arginine 0.30 0.30 0.30 L-Lysine•HCl 0.20 0.20 0.20 Xanthan gum 1.00 1.00 1.00 CaCO3 0.37 0.37 0.37 Dicalcium phosphate 2.77 2.77 2.77 Vitamin premixh 0.127 0.127 0.127 Mineral premixi 0.50 0.50 0.50 NaCl 0.88 0.88 0.88 MgSO4 0.20 0.20 0.20 KCl 0.56 0.56 0.56 Calculated analysisj ME, Mcal/kg 4.1 4.3 4.3 Fat, % 15.49 15.49 15.49 CP, % 31.08 31.08 31.08 Lactose, % 41.30 2.10 2.10 Lysine, % 2.62 2.62 2.62

aExpressed on a dry weight basis bDE=dextrose equivalent. DE is defined as the number of end dextrose units expressed as a

percentage of the total dry substance. gPartially hydrolyzed corn syrup solids, DE 42 and 20 (Star Dry 42 and Star Dry 20, A. E. Staley

Inc., Decator, IL 62521) jCalculated analysis based on analysis provided by companies furnishing product and standard

feed tables (NRC 1998)

Page 23

Page 24

Table 9. Performance of neonatal pigs fed lactose or two sources of partially hydrolyzed corn syrup solids (CSS), dextrose equivalent-42 (DE-42) or dextrose equivalent-20 (DE-20), from d 0 to d 20.a

Diet

Item Lactose CSS (DE-42) CSS (DE-20) ADG, g/d 393 ± 13 384 ± 14 370 ± 14

ADFI, g DM/d 384 ± 16 382 ± 17 382 ± 17 Gain/Feed 1.03 ± 0.04 0.98 ± 0.04 0.99 ± 0.04

aValues are means ± SEM. Within a row, means lacking a common superscript letter differ (P < 0.05).

Table 10. Effect of lactose or two sources of partially hydrolyzed corn syrup solids (CSS), dextrose equivalent-42 (DE-42) or dextrose equivalent-20 (DE-20), on tissue accretion rates. Accretion Rates (g/d) a Treatment Protein Lipid Ash Water Lactose 61.3 ± 4.1 51.2 ± 6.1 6.5 ± 0.6 250.4 ± 17.3

CSS(DE-42)b 58.3 ± 4.1 43.7 ± 6.5 6.2 ± 0.6 242.3 ± 18.5

CSS(DE-20)b 62.6 ± 4.4 45.5 ± 6.5 6.8 ± 0.6 244.8 ± 18.5

aValues are means ± SEM; n = 7 or 8. For accretion weights: means lacking a common superscript letter, within a column, differ (P < 0.05).