Offspring of 14 sows were used to evaluate the effect of yogurt substituted for creep feed on growth performance, diarrhea score and blood profiles. The piglets of sows were randomly allocated into 1 of 2 treatments (1 treatment separated piglets of 7...
Offspring of 14 sows were used to evaluate the effect of yogurt substituted for creep feed on growth performance, diarrhea score and blood profiles. The piglets of sows were randomly allocated into 1 of 2 treatments (1 treatment separated piglets of 7 sows). The dietary treatments were as followed: CF, creep feed; YG, yogurt. The creep feed and yogurt diets were given from 3 d after piglets were born to the day of weaning (21 d after piglets were born). The body weight and feed consumption were weighed and recorded at d 0, 7, 14, and 21 after piglets were born for calculating average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI). At the weaning day, two piglets were randomly chosen from each pen and bled via jugular venipuncture to obtain blood samples for WBC and IgG measurement. All data were subjected to the GLM procedures of SAS (2002) as a randomized complete block design, with pen as the experimental unit. Differences among dietary treatments were separated by Duncan's multiple range test, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. No significant difference (P > 0.05) were observed in number of born piglets, weaning pigs, survival rate, body weight of piglets at d 0, 7, 14, and 21, ADG and ADFI. At d 21, piglets fed with creep feed had a higher (P < 0.05) IgG compared with piglets fed with yogurt. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed in WBC among treatments at d 21. In conclusion, yogurt substituted for creep feed had no adverse effect on growth performance in lactating piglets.