Preventing diarrhoea in piglets
Piglets are weaned between 3 and 4 weeks of age, when they face stressors including diet, social and environmental changes. The multiple stressors associated with the weaning process pose a threat to the piglet’s gastrointestinal tract by worsening the overgrowth of bacteria directly involved in the occurrence of post-weaning diarrhoea. Stress also increases a piglet’s susceptibility to other viral and bacterial infections.
How to recognise
Post-weaning diarrhoea is accompanied by dehydration and reduced growth performance. The condition can increase mortality rates up to 30%. Stress associated with weaning is known to increase piglets’ susceptibility to post-weaning diarrhoea. Low feed intake after weaning results in lessened performance and increased intestinal inflammation.
The impact on the farmer
Post-weaning diarrhoea, caused mainly by enterotoxigenic E. coli, is one of the major health problems in swine worldwide, causing substantial economic losses due to mortality, reduced growth rate and associated veterinary costs.
Conventional methods to prevent this challenge
Conventionally, molecules such as pharmacological levels of ZnO or large doses of preventive antibiotics have been used to prevent post-weaning bacterial diseases, but the implications for human and animal health are turning us in another direction. It’s increasingly clear we will need to search for more sustainable alternatives to prevent post-weaning diarrhoea.