Feed additive studies with newly weaned pigs: efficacy of supplemental copper, antibiotics and organic acids

Six experiments involving 706 newly weaned 28- to 32-d-old pigs were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of copper (Cu) sulfate (to provide 250 mg/kg Cu), antibiotic-sulfa combinations chlortetracycline, 110 mg/kg + penicillin, 55 mg/kg + sulfamethazine, 110 mg/kg; i.e., Aureo-Sulfa-Penicillin (ASP) or tylosin, 110 mg/kg + sulfamethazine, 110 mg/kg; i.e., Tylosin-Sulfa (TS)] and anhydrous citric or fumaric acid (.75 to 1.5% of the diet). The basal experimental diet was a 19% crude protein (CP)-fortified corn-soybean meal diet (1.08% lysine) containing 7% dried whey and 3% fish meal. Marked and consistent gain and gain/feed responses occurred from the Cu supplement, particularly during the first week postweaning. The antibiotic-sulfa combinations were less efficacious than Cu during the 1-wk postweaning stress period. During either the 1- or 3-wk growth periods, ASP and TS showed additivity with Cu in promoting rate and efficiency of weight gain. Liver Cu was increased by Cu addition to the diet, but neither ASP nor TS affected Cu deposition in the liver. In a factorial experiment involving 17% (1.01% lysine) or 20% CP (1.23% lysine) corn-soybean meal diets containing either no dried whey or an addition of 25% whey, Cu supplementation elicited marked improvements in rate and efficiency of weight gain, particularly in diets without added whey. Likewise, whey addition improved pig performance, especially when added to the diets containing no supplemental Cu.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)