Effect of yoghurt waste on gut morphology and growth performance of piglets weaned at 7 weeks

Abstract

The experiment was carried out to determine the effect of yoghurt waste on intestinal morphology and growth performance of pigs weaned at 7 weeks of age. A total of 20 weaned pigs (15.6 ± 2kg, initial body weight {BW}) were randomly assigned in groups of four, to 5 experimental treatments in a randomized block design. Pigs were fed one of five diets for 28d. Treatment 1 (T1) was a standard weaner diet containing 28% soybean meal (SBM) and 2369 Kcal/kg net energy (NE), 19.25% crude protein (CP), 0.98% standardized ileal digestible (SID) lysine (Lys), 0.91% calcium (Ca) and 0.6% phosphorus (P). Treatment 2 (T2) to T5 contained 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% yoghurt waste (89% dry matter {DM}) at the expense of SBM resulting in a total dietary lactose content of 0, 0.6, 1.2, 1.8 and 2.4 % for T1 to T5 respectively. Pigs on T5 recorded the highest (P<0.05) average daily feed intake (ADFI) and the best average daily weight gain (ADG: 1.42kg/d and 0.85kg/d respectively). Intestinal microbial populations were not affected by treatment. However at the terminal ileum, villi heights of pigs on T5 were greater than all other treatments. Formulating weaner diets with 10% yoghurt waste can improve ADG and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and also improve villi heights in the terminal ileum.

Keywords: Dietary yoghurt waste; Weaned pigs; Growth performance; Gut morphology