Abstract
Weaning induces major structural and function changes to the small intestine of pigs and they transition from milk to solid feedstuffs. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine how intestinal morphology and function markers relate to feed intake and growth rates of nursery pig. Forty-eight weaned pigs (5.63 ± 0.50 kg) were randomly selected, individually penned and fed a common diet. Pig bodyweights and feed intake were determined at d 2, 7, and 21. At each time point, 16 pigs were randomly selected and euthanized. Sections of ileum were assessed for morphology [villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD) and VH:CD] and ex vivo transepithelial resistance (TER), macromolecule permeability (FD4), and active transport of glucose and glutamine via modified Ussing chambers. Within each period (d 0–2, 0–7, and 0–21), Pearson correlations were performed between ADG, ADFI, VH, VH:CD, TER, FD4 and active transport of glucose and glutamine. At d 2 post-weaning, no correlations (P > 0.05) were observed between performance and intestinal variables. By d 7, moderate positive correlations between VH and ADFI (r = 0.69, P = 0.005), VH and ADG (r = 0.68, P = 0.006) were reported. At 21 d post-weaning, moderate positive correlations were still observed for VH and ADFI (r = 0.55, P = 0.026) and between VH and ADG (r = 0.51, P = 0.042). Interestingly, ADFI and ADG tended to be negatively correlated with active glucose transport (r = -0.45, P = 0.083 and r = -0.47, P = 0.064, respectively) and active glutamine transport (r = -0.45, P = 0.083 and r = -0.46, P = 0.073, respectively). Markers of ileal integrity (TER and FD4) were not correlated with ADG or ADFI at any time point. Altogether, these data highlight the importance of intestinal morphology on early nursery pig performance.
Inadequate diet mixing time reduces nursery pig performance