Economic efficiency of feeding piglets with milk replacer

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the impact of additional milk replacer feeding in the first week after weaning on growth, survival, feed efficiency, and economic indicators of piglets' growth. The reduction of weaning age and high multiparity of modern sows cause stratification of piglet litter by weight. This reduces their adaptability to housing and feeding conditions during growth. The inclusion of 130 g of liquid milk replacer per day in the first week after weaning provided 27.4% weight gain, 21.1% weight gain at the time of transfer to fattening, 10.3% improvement in feed conversion, 21.1% increase in piglet market value and 12.2% increase in profitability. At the same time, there was a 3.0% decrease in the cost of feed per 1 kg of gain, a 13.1% reduction in treatment costs, a 3.1% decrease in the price of 1 kg of gain, which contributed to a 2.7% increase in profitability and 6.9% higher profitability. Along with the positive results, a 13.9% increase in daily feed consumption, a 23.1% increase in its cost, 10.3% higher treatment costs, a 23.0% increase in the price of growing a piglet, and a 4.1% lower profitability of growing a piglet was recorded. Therefore, using milk replacer improves piglet productivity but requires additional costs to be considered.