Gut balance booster as a prospective alternative to antibiotic growth promoter in swine diet

Abstract

This study accessed the effects of dietary inclusion of Gut Balance Booster (GBB) on performance of weanling pigs. Twenty four six week old  weaned Large White x Landrace pigs of mixed sexes were randomly assigned into two groups of 12 piglets each. Each treatment was replicated three times with four pigs in each replicate. They were fed diet A (normal starter diet without GBB) and diet B (starter diet with GBB at 2.00 Kg/ton). Feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), haematology, serum lipid profile, faecal egg count, shedding of selected bacteria and cost- benefit of the additive were determined. Results showed that there was no significant difference (p≤0.05) in daily feed intake, FCR and weight gain. However, the values favoured the supplemented group (1.16 ± 0.10 vs. 1.06 ± 0.13 Kg, 2.61 ± 0.34 vs. 3.04 ± 0.23, 485.29 ± 59.12 vs. 355.00 ±
40.30 g). Haemoglobin, PCV, RBC, WBC and lymphocyte counts were higher in group B. Lipid profile showed no significant difference (p≤0.05) in the two groups. The GBB reduced faecal strongyle eggs output, salmonella species, Escherichia coli and significantly increased Bacillus subtilis. Net revenue due to GBB supplementation significantly improved within the experimental period. It was concluded that in pigs, dietary inclusion of GBB at starter phase improves gut health, growth performance and is cost beneficial.

Keywords: Swine, Antibiotics, Feed additives, Growth performance, Cost benefits