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Effect of different creep feeding treatments and group composition on the initiation of piglet feeding behaviour immediately post-weaning
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2017
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The post-weaning growth check of the piglet can be attributed to the inability of the animal to eat sufficient food in the initial post weaning period and hence grow at a maximum rate (Pluske et al., 1996). It is essential therefore to identify determinants of individual feed intake characteristics post weaning to improve piglet performance. A palatable creep-diet is often fed to piglets pre-weaning to increase performance and to allow piglets to become familiarised with solid feed sourced from a feeder. Bruininx (2002) et al., demonstrated using single spaced Feed Intake Recording Equipment (FIRE), that creep feed stimulates post-weaning feed intake and gain. In addition, Morgan et al. (2001) investigated feeding behaviour of piglets paired from creep or no creep backgrounds and concluded a learning effect which increased the feeding behaviour of the naïve piglet. The purpose of this experiment, therefore, was to investigate the effect of offering selected litters either creep feed or zero creep (naïve) pre-weaning on their latency to initiate feeding post weaning. It was hypothesised that learning behaviour between piglets may influence feeding initiation and so this experiment would also look at the effect of mixing piglets from the two lactation backgrounds.
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- Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2007