Evaluation of the effect of Apsabor 320 on the palatability of piglet feed in the post-weaning period

Linneos Technical Department (Andrés Pintaluba group ) and Agro-Food Institute of Research and Technology (IRTA), 2025.

Introduction

Weaning is a critical stage for piglets, as the transition from mother’s milk to feed can lead to a reduction in feed intake, affecting their growth and health. Promoting feed intake from the first days after weaning is key to avoiding losses and developmental delays. Sweetening feed with stevia improves its palatability, stimulating feed intake and promoting adaptation to the new diet. This strategy helps optimize feed intake and growth rates, reducing the negative impact of weaning and improving production efficiency during such a critical phase.

Aim

The objective was to evaluate the effect of Apsabor 320 on feed palatability and zootechnical indices of piglets in the post-weaning period.

Place, animals and experimental design

Place

The test was conducted at IRTA’s experimental facilities from October 31 to December 12, 2024.

Animals

(Large White x Landrace) x Pietrain were used.

Design

T0: Control feed without palatability, pelleted and offered ad libitum.

T1: T0 feed to which Apsabor 320 was added.

Evaluated parameters and results:

		*Weight gain, g/d*	*Feed consumption, g/d*
*0-7 days*	Control	20.7	128
*0-7 days*	Apsabor 320	28.4	163

*0-14 days*	Control	112	195
*0-14 days*	Apsabor 320	112	214

*0-42 days*	Control	300	413
*0-42 days*	Apsabor 320	325	501*

*14-42 days*	Control	393	619
*14-42 days*	Apsabor 320	431	752*

*Feed consumption was statistically higher than in the control group (p<0.05).

Analysis of the results:

In the first 14 days post-weaning, despite not obtaining statistically superior results in the treated group, significant numerical superiorities in consumption were observed, especially in the first week.
After assessing the effect of adding Apsabor 320 to the feed of post-weaning piglets, in the pre-starter and starter phases, through measuring the weight of the animals and feed consumption in stages, it is concluded that consumption is statistically higher than that of the control in the starter and in both periods as a whole.
The rest of the weight gain and consumption values in the other periods, although they do not show statistical differences with respect to the control, mostly show important numerical differences in favor of Apsabor 320.

Conclusions:

The addition of Apsabor 320 to the pre-starter and starter feed of piglets improves feed intake throughout the post-weaning period, with statistically higher values than those of the control.