Department of Animal Science
Date of this Version
January 1999
Abstract
As part of a cooperative research study with several other Midwest universities, two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of high concentrations of zinc from zinc oxide in nursery diets. In the first experiment, the effects of adding various pharmacological concentrations of zinc as zinc oxide were tested. In the second experiment, the effects of both zinc and(or) carbadox additions to diets for weanling pigs were evaluated. Feeding pharmacological concentrations (2,000 to 3,000 mg/kg) of supplemental zinc from zinc oxide stimulated voluntary feed intake and weight gain of nursery pigs, but additive responses to carbadox (55 mg/kg) were not observed. In this experiment, supplementing weanling pigs diets with carbadox had no effect on growth performance. Based on this study, zinc oxide is more cost-effective than carbadox for promoting growth in weanling pigs.
Comments
Published in 1999 Nebraska Swine Report, compiled by Duane E. Reese, Associate Professor and Extension Swine Specialist, Department of Animal Science. Prepared by the staff in Animal Science and cooperating Departments for use in Extension, Teaching and Research programs. Published by Cooperative Extension Division, Agricultural Research Division, and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Swine reports website: www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/swine/pigpdf.htm