Effect of Maternal Flavour Conditioning Combined with Organic and Inorganic Iron-Supplemented Creep Feed on Piglet Performance and Haemoglobin Status
Ryan Kristen, Roslyn Bathgate, Greg M. Cronin, Evelyn Hall, Malcolm Possell, Cormac John O’Shea

TL;DR
This study shows that anise-flavored, iron-supplemented creep feed can help prevent iron deficiency anemia in piglets, reducing the need for injections.
Contribution
The study introduces maternal flavor conditioning combined with iron-supplemented creep feed as a novel strategy to improve piglet iron status.
Findings
Anise-flavored, iron-supplemented creep feed achieved comparable haemoglobin and body weight to iron injections.
Maternal flavor conditioning increased piglet creep feed interaction and decreased suckling events.
Iron supplementation via creep feed effectively prevented iron deficiency anemia regardless of maternal flavor exposure.
Abstract
Traditional treatment protocols for piglets suffering from iron deficiency anaemia are currently lacking from both cost, labour and welfare perspectives. Dietary iron supplements during the suckling phase are problematic due to variable habituation to creep feed consumption. Maternal flavour conditioning may resolve this variability. This study evaluated the role of anise flavoured, iron supplemented creep, with or without maternal anise conditioning on the iron status and growth performance of piglets. Anise flavoured, iron supplemented creep achieved comparable haemoglobin and body weight status to groups receiving an iron injection. These findings merit further evaluation of iron-fortified creep feed as a supplementary strategy for piglets. Iron injections are vital but imperfect against iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). This experiment explored the effects on piglets of maternal…
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Taxonomy
TopicsIron Metabolism and Disorders · Animal Nutrition and Physiology
