Effects of Formi~R (potassium diformate) on the performance of weaning piglets

摘要

With costs of pig production under increasing pressure, the nutrition of young pigs is of increasing interest, as this period is critical to the subsequent performance of the animals through to market. Optimising growth rate and feed efficiency at this time are therefore key requirements for success in today's animal production systems. While antibiotics are available to assist in improving growth during this phase, there are a range of concerns from world-wide pig producers about their use, including bacterial resistance, palatability and the accuracy of antibiotic dosage if feed intake is compromised. Furthermore, animal production is viewed critically for its use of in-feed antibiotics, both from consumers and regulatory authorities. As a result,various feed additives have been studied as alternatives. Organic acids, particularly salts of organic acids, have been reported by many experts to enhance growth performance in the absence of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in pigs, as well as poultry and aquaculture.