Feed Additives for Swine Dr. Bob Thaler South Dakota State University

Feed Additives MAY Compounds that MAY elicit a response independent of the pig’s energy, amino acid, and vitamin/mineral requirements Response is dependent on age of pig, disease level, genetics, environmental factors, & type of diet/feedstuffs

General Categories Antibacterials & Antibiotics Chemotherapeutics Organic acids Probiotics & Prebiotics Enzymes Botanicals Carcass modifiers Flavors Aromas Mold inhibitors Mycotoxin binders Odor reducers

Antibiotic Efficacy in Nursery & Grow- Finish Pigs (% improvement) YearsProduction Stage Daily GainFeed/Gai n Nursery (7-25 kg) Grow-Finish Nursery (7-25 kg) Grow-Finish3.62.4

Sows & Antibiotics General thought is not to add antibiotics to sow diets if conception rate is > 85% However, if conception rate is < 85%, may be beneficial depending on the problem Must be at the therapeutic level 2 weeks before breeding One week prior to farrowing to weaning

Commonly Used Feed Additives USDA:APHIS, 2000

Commonly Used Feed Additives (Company Feeding >25% of US Pigs) AntibioticConcentr (g/kg) Retail $/kg Dietary Inclusion #1 CTC /ton #2 Tylan g/ton #3 Mecadox g/ton #4 BMD g/ton #5Lincomycin , 44, 110, or 220 g/ton

Lincomycin Reducing the severity of swine mycoplasmal pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Controlling ileitis, also known as Porcine Proliferative Enteropathy Treating and controlling swine dysentery

Lincomycin Increasing the rate of weight gain in growing- finishing swine FDA approved for ileitis control and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae LINCOMIX at 40 g/t for ileitis control costs $5 to $7 less per ton than the approved Tylan* dose of 100 g/t

Tylosin (Tylan) Classic antibiotic used for growth promotion Relatively inexpensive No withdrawal. Tylan can be fed to market weight Only Tylan ® Premix, fed at 100 g/ton, is approved to prevent and control ileitis. No other product can legally make this claim

Tylosin (Tylan) Convenient. One product for ileitis prevention and growth promotion Tylan is primarily active against gram-positive bacteria and has significant activity against mycoplasma Feeding it during grow-finish phase increased longissimus muscle area

Carbadox (Mecadox) Typically fed in the Pre-weaning, Nursery, and early Grower diets For the treatment of clinical outbreaks of swine dysentery (vibrioic dysentery, "bloody" scours of haemorrhagic dysentery) For the prevention and control of swine dysentery

Carbadox (Mecadox) For increase in rate of mass gain and improvement of feed efficiency 10 week withdrawal prior to slaughter Do not use in feeds containing bentonite Usually too expensive to use strictly for growth promotion

Chemotherapeutic Agents Naturally occurring or chemically synthesized compounds that inhibit the growth of microorganisms Copper Sulfate 100 to 250 ppm in nursery diets Additive effect with antibiotics Zinc oxide 1500 to 3000 ppm Controls some post-weaning scours Higher levels can be toxic (know base levels) High levels in the manure – environmental problems Already being regulated in some European countries

Probiotics Living bacteria or yeast cultures to enhance microbial balance Lactobacillus species, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus faecium, Saccharomyces cerevisiae or various mixtures Traditionally use in nursery diets Beginning to be used in grow-finish diets Strain of microbe, dose, interactions, feedstuffs, feed processing

Enzymes Increase nutrient utilization Not much benefit with corn-SBM diets More of a benefit with wheat & barley-based diets Beta glucanase and xylanase are the most commonly used ones Others include alpha amylase, cellulase, protease, and various combinations Great variation in efficacy

Phytase Most commonly used enzyme in the world Increases utilization of phytate P in grains Decrease P excretion Less P running off into lakes and rivers Less euthrophication Decrease amount of inorganic P Currently slight economic savings in diet cost Tremendous environmental benefit

Others Mold Inhibitors effective against molds, not mycotoxins Antioxidants – increase shelf-life & are effective Mycotoxin Binders Are present even if mold is gone Products effective against aflatoxins (clays, HSCAS, pellet binders) Few, if any, products effective on other mycotoxins

Others cont. Odor Reducing Additives Many products, few effective (DeOdorase, Microaid) Heavily dependent on condition of individual systems Manure composition, pH, temperature, antibacterials, water, etc

Carcass Modifiers Ractopamine (Paylean) Chromium tripicolinate Betaine L-carnitine Zilpaterol

Ractopamine (PayLean) Beta agonist that “repartitions” where nutrients go (from fat to lean deposition) Improves: Growth rate Feed conversion Lean deposition

Ractopamine (PayLean) Approved at the 9 g/ton level the last 90 pounds prior to slaughter 5 g/ton improves gain (10%) & efficiency (17%) Maybe carcass 9.9 g/ton improves gain & efficiency, carcass weight & dressing %

Ractopamine (PayLean) 19.8 g/ton seldom used cost of product Increased death-loss potential Greatest response first 2 weeks, then decreases over the last 2 weeks Need at least a 16% protein diet and.90% lysine diet (watch all amino acid levels)

PayLean Use In Commercial Operations Used to decrease total number of marketing days for a group/barn #1 Market first group of heaviest pigs #2 Feed the 5 g/ton level for 2 weeks #3 Feed the 9.9 g/ton level for the last 2 weeks or until all the pigs are marketed

Handling/Stress Is An Issue! Elanco has developed a program on proper handling of swine from farm through harvest

Carcass Modifiers Organic Chromium (tripicolinate) Increase leanness 6%, but not consistent 200 ppb Cr improved sow fertility, # born & weaned Must be fed at least 6 months to get sow response Betaine (sugar beet industry) Enhance leanness and feed efficiency (?????) Works with met/cys deficiency or lysine excess Carnitine Initially thought to improve leanness & efficiency Some response in nursery pigs 50 ppm in gestation increased litter size & birth weight

Example Current diet cost = $120/ton Feed additive costs $15 to add to a ton of feed ($135 - $120) * 100 = 12.5% improvement in F/G $120just to pay for itself If getting a 10% improvement in feed efficiency, still losing money!!!

Doesn’t take into Consideration Changes in: Gain Carcass characteristics Deathloss

Summary Feed additives can be effective tools when used properly Do the “Homework” for YOUR operation Match disease problem with feed additive Feed additives are not a replacement for poor management Ractopamine is economically advantageous when used strategically

Summary Make sure you get a real “Net” economic benefit that’s consistent Use your feed $ where you’ll get the best, most consistent return on your investment.