Spring 2025 www.pigchamp.com 11 In North America and many other pork-producing regions, pigs are weaned at a young age (approximately 21 days). Economically, this is a sensical decision on the producer’s part to help optimize all farm sow productivity and throughput. Physiologically, however, this can be a challenging time for piglets. We know that young pigs have poor stomach-acid production up to seven to eight weeks of age (Pluske, 2016), and many of the ingredients commonly used in nursery diets have a high acid-binding capacity (ABC-4; Stas et al., 2022), which can further raise the stomach’s pH. A high stomach pH is concerning because it can lead to a myriad of issues, ranging from poor nutrient digestibility to increased pathogen proliferation, diarrhea, and mortality. Considering all the other stressors involved during the weaning period, it’s the last thing a piglet needs. The use of acidifiers is a widespread practice that attempts to overcome this issue and promote growth and health benefits for piglets. The proposed mode of action includes reducing the pH in the GI tract, improvements in nutrient digestibility, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria, and pathogen inhibition (Jacela et al., 2009). Ultimately, the objective is to reduce the diet’s ABC-4 (Acid-Binding Capacity-4 is the amount of acid needed to lower the pH of a feed ingredient or diet to 4, which is important for maintaining a healthy stomach environment in young pigs, especially after weaning). Unfortunately, most ingredients used in swine diets have a high ABC-4. For example, in a compilation of the most commonly used ingredients, Stas et al. (2022) reported that soybean meal, whey permeate, and spray-dried plasma have ABC-4 values of 602, 520, and 713 mEq/ kg (milliequivalents per kilogram), respectively. Other key ingredients, like limestone and zinc oxide, have extremely high ABC-4s of 18,384 and 21,863 mEq/kg, respectively. Acidifiers, on the other hand, have negative ABC-4 values and can help partially counteract the negative effects of a high-ABC-4 diet. ACIDIFIERS FOR NURSERY PIGS Recent Findings on the Use of Dr. Henrique Cemin, Senior Swine Nutritionist, Hubbard Feeds Table 1. Effects of increasing levels of Acid-Aid on the growth performance of nursery pigs (Trial 1)1 Table 2. Growth performance of nursery pigs fed diets with or without Acid-Aid (Trial 2)1
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