Dehydrated Alfalfa and Antibiotic Supplements in Gestation-Lactation Rations for Swine

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Abstract
The addition of 0.5 percent AFP-antibiotic supplement to a basal ration of barley, soybean oil meal, sun-cured alfalfa and meat meal for brood sows during pre-breeding, gestation and lactation resulted in no significant improvement with regard to number of pigs farrowed, number of pigs farrowed alive, average birth weights and number of pigs weaned per sow. A highly significant adverse result was obtained by substituting dehydrated alfalfa pellets for sun-cured alfalfa meal in the gestation-lactation ration as shown by the number of pigs weaned per sow and the total weight of pig weaned per sow. Of the total number of pigs farrowed, the percent mortality to weaning was 16 percent and 20 percent higher when dehydrated alfalfa pellets were fed in place of sun-cured alfalfa meal in the sows diet. In these trials, the extra cost of the dehydrated alfalfa combined with lower reproductive performance indicated that dehydrated alfalfa, in a pelleted form, was definitely inferior to sun-cured alfalfa meal as a feed component in rations for gestating-lactating sows and gilts. Copyright © . .

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