Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Article Title

Evaluating Medium Chain Fatty Acids as an Alternative to Chlortetracycline in Nursery Pig Diets

Authors

R. A. Cochrane, Kansas State University, ManhattanFollow
J. R. Pluske, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia
J. P. Mansfield, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia
S. S. Dritz, Kansas State University, ManhattanFollow
J. C. Woodworth, Kansas State University, ManhattanFollow
M. D. Tokach, Kansas State University, ManhattanFollow
M. C. Niederwerder, Kansas State University, Manhattan KansasFollow
C. B. Paulk, Kansas State UniversityFollow
C. K. Jones, Kansas State University, ManhattanFollow

Keywords

chlortetracycline, Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, medium chain fatty acids, pig

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) as a potential alternative to chlortetracycline (CTC) in nursery pigs. One hundred entire male pigs (initially 14.1 ± 1.6 lb body weight (BW) and weaned at 22 d of age) were used in a 29-d disease challenge study. Pigs were allowed 5 acclimation days after weaning, followed by 2 d of disease challenge with Enterotoxigenic β-hemolytic Escherichia coli (ETEC), serotype O149:K91: K88. After the challenge, pigs were allotted to a diet with 1 of 5 treatments: 1) control with no additives; 2) 400 g/ton CTC (Chlortet 200G, Eco Animal Health, London, United Kingdom); 3) 1.08% of a 1:1:1 blend of C6:0, C8:0, and C10:0 (Nuscience Group, Drongen, Belgium); 4) 3.93% developmental Product A (Nuscience Group, Drongen, Belgium); and 5) 1.04% developmental Product B (Kemin Industries, Des Moines, IA, USA). Treatments 3, 4, and 5 were included at rates to derive a 1% MCFA concentration in finished feed. Pigs were fed treatment diets for 14 days following the disease challenge to mimic a therapeutic dose of CTC and fed a common diet from d 14 to 21. There was no evidence of difference (P > 0.10) of dietary treatment on growth performance from d 0 to 7 or d 14 to 21. From d 7 to 14, pigs fed diets with added CTC, 1:1:1 blend, or Product B had improved (P < 0.05) F:G compared to those fed the control diet, with pigs fed diets with Product A intermediate. A treatment × day interaction for the ETEC fecal shedding was observed (P < 0.05), which was driven by pigs fed diets with CTC having decreased (P < 0.05) fecal shedding on d 7 than d 14, while those fed diets with Product B having greater (P < 0.05) fecal ETEC shedding on d 1 than d 14. While other disease markers, such as fecal score, plasma urea nitrogen, and haptoglobin, decreased (P < 0.05) with time, they were not affected (P > 0.05) by dietary treatment. In conclusion, supplementing ETECchallenged nursery pigs with MCFA-based dietary treatments led to similar growth performance as a therapeutic dose of 400 g/ton of CTC. Further research is needed to confirm the mode of action, most effective MCFA or combination, and effective dose of medium chain fatty acids in ETEC-challenged pigs.

Recommended Citation

Cochrane, R. A.; Pluske, J. R.; Mansfield, J. P.; Dritz, S. S.; Woodworth, J. C.; Tokach, M. D.; Niederwerder, M. C.; Paulk, C. B.; and Jones, C. K. (2018) "Evaluating Medium Chain Fatty Acids as an Alternative to Chlortetracycline in Nursery Pig Diets," Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports: Vol. 4: Iss. 9. https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5977.7659