Effects of dietary supplementation of a lipid-coated zinc oxide product on the fecal consistency, growth, and morphology of the intestinal mucosa of weanling pigs

Table 2 Effects of dietary supplementation of the lipid-coated ZnO Shield Zn® (SZ) vs. ZnO on fecal consistency and growth performance in weanling pigs (Exp. 1)

Item	ZnO (mg Zn/kg)		SZ (mg Zn/kg)		SEM	P value
Item	100	2500	100	200
FCS^1),2)
Day 0	0.07^y	0.03	0.03^y	0.00^y
Day 7	0.52^b,x	0.25^c	0.93^a,x	0.43^bc,x	0.08³⁾
Day 14	0.24^y	0.07	0.21^y	0.15^y
Overall⁴⁾	0.28^ab	0.12^c	0.39^a	0.19^bc	0.04	0.002
Body weight¹⁾ (kg)
Day 0	6.10	6.36	6.30	6.45	0.11	0.197
Day 7	7.70	7.87	7.76	7.69	0.12	0.712
Day 14	8.92^b	9.70^a	9.27^ab	8.70^b	0.22	0.043
ADG¹⁾ (g)
Days 0 to 7	229^a	216^a	207^a	176^b	9	0.009
Days 7 to 14	165^b	262^a	218^ab	150^b	22	0.013
Overall	197^bc	241^a	212^ab	155^c	14	0.011
ADFI⁵⁾ (g)
Days 0 to 7	261	257	253	249	8	0.792
Days 7 to 14	372	456	387	355	28	0.122
Overall	316	357	320	302	17	0.201
Gain:feed⁵⁾
Days 0 to 7	0.88	0.84	0.82	0.76	0.03	0.062
Days 7 to 14	0.43^c	0.58^a	0.55^ab	0.44^bc	0.03	0.015
Overall	0.62^bc	0.68^a	0.66^ab	0.56^c	0.02	0.010

Exp. experiment, SEM standard error of mean, FCS fecal consistency score, ADG average daily gain, ADFI average daily feed intake
^a-cMeans with no common superscript within a row differ (P < 0.05)
^x,yMeans with no common superscript within a column differ (P < 0.05)
¹⁾Data are least squares means of 6 pens, with 10 piglets per pen
²⁾Scored subjectively: 0, normal firm feces; 1, soft feces; 2, diarrhea
³⁾Applies to all day × treatment combinations
⁴⁾The P values for the day and day × treatment were <0.001 and 0.009, respectively
⁵⁾Data are least squares means of 6 pens

ISSN: 2055-0391