Effects of Dried Whey and Copper Sulfate on the Growth Responses to Organic Acid in Diets for Weanling Pigs

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Abstract
Five 21-d to 28-d experiments involving 484 pigs weaned at 28 ± 2 d of age were conducted to evaluate the effects of addition of organic acid to a fortified, corn-soybean meal diet (CS) or to a similar diet containing 15% dried whey (CSW) on performance of pigs. The effects of an antibiotic-sulfonamide combination (110 mg chlortetracycline, 110 mg sulfamethazine, 55 mg penicillin/kg) and the interactive effects of Cu sulfate (250 ppm Cu) and acid also were evaluated. The acid was a commercial product consisting of 96% organic acid (citric acid and Na citrate, 2:1). Treatments in Exp. 1 and 2 were factorial arrangements of the CS or CSW basal diets supplemented with 0 or 1% (Exp. 1) and 0, .5 or 1% (Exp. 2) of the acid product. Pigs fed diets containing whey consumed more feed (P < .01) and gained weight faster (P < .05), but they had feed/gain responses similar to those of pigs fed the CS diet. Addition of 1% acid improved (P < .01) growth rate of pigs fed the CS diet but did not improve (P > .25) growth rate of pigs fed the CSW diet. Feed/gain was improved (P < .01) by acid addition to both the CS and the CSW diets. Improvements in gain and feed/gain were similar for the two levels of acid. In Exp. 3 and 4, factorial combinations of 0 and 1% acid and 0 and 250 ppm Cu were evaluated in diets containing an antibiotic-sulfonamide combination. In addition, a negative control diet (no antibiotics, acid or Cu) was included. Pigs fed diets containing antibiotics gained faster and more efficiently (P < .01) than those fed the control diet. The addition of Cu to the antibiotic-sulfonamide diets improved feed intake (P < .01), growth rate (P < .01) and feed/gain (P < .07). Acid addition, in the presence of Cu, increased rate of gain. In Exp. 5, acid addition to the CSW diet resulted in a numerical reduction in the pH of the contents of the stomach, small intestine and large intestine of pigs at 21 d. In this study, the dietary inclusion of organic acid was effective in lowering the pH of the diet and improving performance of early-weaned pigs. Copyright © 1988. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1988 by American Society of Animal Science.