Effects of Various Nutrient Levels and Environmental Temperatures on the Incidence of Colibacillary Diarrhea in Pigs: Intestinal Fistulation and Titration Studies

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Abstract
Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of various nutritional factors and environmental stress on the incidence and/or severity of colibacillary diarrhea in young pigs. Techniques used included fistulation, titration and visual observation. Neither the level of dietary protein (16 or 22%), the presence of 20% oats nor the environmental temperature (4.4° or 26.7°) had any significant effect on fecal and intestinal Escherichia coli numbers or percent hemolytic E. coli following an oral E. coli challenge. Pigs fed the 22% protein diet tended to have the greatest intestinal fluid volumes with pigs fed the diet containing oats having the lowest. Gain data were similar and diarrhea was not evident. When given a challenge of E. coli, weaned pigs in a normal environment (28.3°) gained faster and had less diarrhea than pigs similarly treated but in a cold environment (10.0°). Pigs fed a milk replacer diet which contained an antibiotic also gained faster and had less diarrhea than pigs fed a 22% corn-soy diet. Fecal and intestinal E. coli determinations suggest that the ingested E. coli were unable to proliferate in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs fed the milk replacer diet. Pigs fed the corn-soybean meal diet had greater fluid volume in their gastrointestinal tracts compared to those in pigs fed milk replacer. The presence of hemolytic E. coli in the feces was not a good indicator of diarrhea although all pigs that exhibited diarrhea (visual observation) did have a large number of hemolytic E. coli in their feces. Copyright © 1977. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science.