EFFECTS OF DIETARY INCLUSION OF A NATURAL CLINOPTILOLITE (MANNELITE(TM)) ON PIGLET PERFORMANCE

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of dietary inclusi on of the natural clinoptilolite Mannelite(TM) on performance of weani ng piglets. To this end, 336 piglets of a mean weaning age of 27 days were fed during four weeks a barley-wheat-based control diet or the co ntrol diet with 2 % Mannelite(TM), corrected for nutrient dilution or the control diet diluted with 2 % Mannelite(TM). Mannelite(TM) in the diet that was corrected for nutrient dilution gave a tendency for high er growth and lower feed to gain ratio. When the diet was not correcte d for nutrient dilution, the piglets showed a significant higher growt h and better feed to gain ratio - corrected for differences in nutrien t concentration of the diets-over the total experimental period. They were able to compensate for the energy diluting effect of Mannelite ad dition by increasing their feed intake. Mannelite(TM) had no effect on pellet quality parameters of the experimental diets. It was concluded that dietary dilution of piglet feed with 2 % Mannelite(TM) significa ntly increased daily gain and decreased feed to gain ratio, corrected for nutrient dilution.