PERFORMANCE OF WEANED PIGLETS FED DIETS CONTAINING SPRAY DRIED PLASMA

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of spray dried plasma (SDP) on the performance and incidence of diarrhea in early weaned piglets. Fifty-six piglets from the same lineage, with an approximate live weight of 3.87 +/- 0.65 kg and approximate age of 14 days, were used. Four levels of inclusion of SDP in the piglet diets were tested during two consecutive periods, 14 to 28 days of age (period 1) and 29 to 42 days of age (period 2). The levels of SDP used were 0%, 2%, 4% and 6% for period 1 and 0%, 1%, 2% and 3% for period 2. During period 3 (42 to 56 days of age), all piglets received a diet without SDP. For performance evaluation, the piglets were weighed fortnightly and on the last day of the trial when the age of the batch was 56 days. Daily feed intake, average daily weight gain, and feed conversion were analyzed. No significant difference (P<0.05) in feed intake, weight gain or feed conversion was observed between treatments. The inclusion of SDP in the diet did not influence the performance of early weaned piglets.