Intest-Plus ® takes the stress out of weaning

Weaning is the greatest challenge encountered by a piglet in its lifetime. Piglets are confronted with numerous different challenges including social, environmental and nutritional changes. These result in reduced feed intake as well as other biological responses to stress.

Decreased gut wall surface area and gut barrier integrity
Decreased digestive enzyme secretion
Reduced weight gain
Post-weaning diarrhoea

Cost-effective dietary supplementation of Intest-Plus® enables piglets to overcome these negative consequences of weaning. Intest-Plus® uses our patented coating process to deliver targeted gut release of butyrate. The coating also improves the smell and handling properties of butyrate.

A trial was conducted using Intest-Plus® to demonstrate its ability to enhance the performance of weaning piglets. The trial was conducted with a total of 160 weaning piglets (28 days old) that all received the same basal diet. The piglets were randomly allocated to four treatments: control (basal diet only) or basal diet supplemented with one of three different dosages of Intest-Plus® (low, medium and high). During the 6-week trial, the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and small intestine villi length were assessed along with several other parameters.

Intest-Plus® significantly increased final bodyweight and the gain : feed ratio even at low doses (Figure 1). Medium dosage was optimal in terms of improving both final bodyweight and gain : feed ratio to the greatest extent. As well as these clear performance benefits, Intest-Plus was also shown in the trial to increase villus length in the small intestine. Furthermore, Intest-Plus showed a positive influence on intestinal and faecal bacteria.

Further details about the trial findings can be found in the published study. For more information about the benefits of Intest-Plus® and the wider product range, please visit the product page or contact us directly.