Liquid diets accelerate the growth of early-weaned pigs and the effects are maintained to market weight

Piglets (n = 240, 11.0 +/- 0.1 d old, 3.93 +/- 0.05 kg) were allotted to on e of four treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement to examine the effect s of diet physical form and nursery environment during the first 14 d after weaning on growth to market weight. During the treatment period, pigs were housed (10 pigs/ pen) in either a conventional hot nursery (30 degreesC) o r a segregated-temperature nursery (cool ambient temp. of 24 degreesC, with enclosed hot-box hovers at 32 degreesC). Pigs in each environment were fed nutritionally identical diets in either liquid or dry-pellet form for 14 d . Subsequently, all pigs were fed identical dry diets and were housed in co mmon grower-finisher facilities (penned by sex, five pigs/pen). At the end of the treatment period (d 14), pigs fed the liquid diet were 21% heavier t han pigs fed the dry pellet diet (9.22 vs 7.60 kg; P < 0.001). Similarly, g ain, feed intake, and gain/feed of liquid-fed pigs were 44%, 18%, and 22% g reater, respectively, than observed for pigs fed the dry pellet diet. No ma in effect of environment was observed (P > 0.10); however, an interaction w ith diet physical form occurred during the early-nursery period (P < 0.01). Pigs fed the liquid diet showed better performance in the conventional nur sery, whereas pigs fed the dry pellet diet were favored in the segregated-t emperature nursery. No major differences in growth performance or in ultras ound carcass measurements were detected during the growing-finishing period ; however, the advantage in body weight of liquid-fed pigs gained during th e first 2 wk postweaning was maintained to the end of the trial (113.9 vs 1 10.6 kg; P < 0.05). Pigs that were fed the early-nursery diet in liquid for m reached market weight (110 kg) 3.7 d sooner than the dry-fed controls (P < 0.01). Estimates of lean gain (calculated from live ultrasound data) were unaffected, suggesting that composition of growth was not altered. Collect ively, these results show that liquid feeding during early life can markedl y accelerate piglet growth performance and that the growth advantage is mai ntained to market weight, with no evidence of compensatory gain in the dry- fed control pigs.