News from the Midwest Sectional Meetings, March 16-18, 1998, Des Moines, Iowa
Contact:
Ted Wiseman, Ohio State University(614) 292-9052
Don Mahan, (614) 292-6987
By Kyle Sharp
Salt Doesn't Just Add Flavor to the Diets of Early-Weaned Pigs
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Hog producers who wean early and want healthier, faster-growing and more consistently sized pigs should be saying "pass the salt."
Sodium chloride, commonly known as table salt, helps break down protein and prevent the growth of harmful bacteria in the stomachs of newly weaned pigs, said Ted Wiseman, Ohio State University animal science graduate research associate. The chloride component is particularly important.
Early-weaned pigs with almost three times more sodium and chloride in their diets than the minimum recommendations of the National Research Council are more uniform with better growth rates, Wiseman said.
Wiseman presented research regarding sodium chloride and early-weaned pigs at the American Society of Animal Science/American Dairy Science Association Midwestern Meeting, March 17 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Several years ago, Ohio State researchers found that pigs weaned early have a greater need for chloride. While a young pig nurses the sow, lactose in the milk is broken down in the pig's stomach by bacteria called Lactobacilli, and as a result lactic acid is formed. This acidity in the stomach is what digests food proteins and prevents the growth of harmful bacteria that can cause diarrhea and other health problems.
When pigs are weaned from milk, lactic acid production decreases and is replaced by the natural production of hydrochloric acid within the stomach. However, when a pig is weaned early, hydrochloric acid production has not yet begun, and the resulting low stomach acid levels can cause poor food digestion and bacterial concerns. Chloride helps digest food proteins and keep stomach acid levels high.
"The chloride in sodium chloride helps sooth the transition period of early-weaned pigs from when lactic acid production decreases to when hydrochloric acid production begins," Wiseman said.
Wiseman and Ohio State animal scientist Don Mahan began studying the impact of sodium chloride on pigs weaned at 14 days of age two years ago. They found that the early-weaned pigs fed a plant-protein diet high in sodium chloride grew 10 percent faster during the first two weeks to three weeks after weaning than early-weaned pigs not fed higher amounts of salt.
Young pigs fed animal proteins in their diets with added sodium chloride experienced the same results, but only for the first week. Animal-protein feeds already have higher natural salt levels from processing, so adding more salt doesn't have as much of an impact, Wiseman said.
The National Research Council recommends a pig's diet consist of a minimum of .1 percent chloride from all dietary sources. Wiseman and Mahan recommend the diet of early-weaned pigs contain at least .3 percent chloride.
"Early-weaned pigs can experience poor digestion, diarrhea and a wide range of growth rates," Wiseman said. "Adding salt helps reduce the magnitude of those problems and gets the young pigs off to a better start."
In the future, Ohio State researchers plan to study other forms of chloride, such as potassium chloride and other acidifiers, to see if they also impact the digestion and growth of early-weaned pigs.
-30-