Norel launch new probiotic for piglets
Early weaning (3 weeks of age) is a common practice for the swine industry, especially in intensive production systems.
This early weaning results in several changes for the piglet such as separation from the mother, new housing, grouping with other animals and new feeds, normally solid, making the weaning period rather stressful for the piglet. Proporc, the biological additive developed by Norel, is based on spores of Bacillus licheniformis and has demonstrated its benefits by improving performance parameters in this stressful period. Recently, Norel have run a trial at a commercial farm in Spain to investigate the effects of adding Proporc to a standard post-weaning feeding programme.
A total of 380 piglets were separated in a control and a treatment group. Animals were monitored for performance parameters from day 25 to 74 of age and received 2 different feeds (prestarter and starter). The inclusion of Proporc resulted in heavier piglets (22.9 vs. 21.7 kg); it also increased the average daily gain (337 vs. 313 g/d) and decreased FCR (1.54 vs.1.67). These differences were mainly produced in the last 2 weeks of the trial, where the animals fed with Proporc grew a 10.8% more and had a better FCR (-20%; 1.36 vs. 1.70).
The results concluded that the addition of Proporc at a dosage of 10 exp. 6 CFU/kg of feed to the diet improved intestinal microbiota balance in the piglets and promoted an easier transition to solid feed, producing higher body weights, better growth.
Related website: Norel
