Effects Of A Dietary Seaweed Product On Sow Progeny Performance, Fecal Consistency, And Fecal Microbiota During Gestation, Lactation, Nursery And Grow-Finish Periods

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of providing a selected mix of brown, red and green seaweeds (OceanFeed® Swine; Ocean Harvest Technology, Galway, Ireland) to sows during gestation and lactation and progeny during nursery and grow-finish periods on growth performance, fecal consistency, and microbiota composition. Twenty-eight sows and litters were used from d 30 of gestation until weaning. Sow treatments consisted of a control diet or diet supplemented with OceanFeed Swine (OFS) at 0.50% in gestation and 0.66% in lactation. At weaning, 360 pigs from these sows were used from d 0 to 56 and 57 to 156 in nursery and grow-finish periods, respectively, in a split-plot design. Treatments were a control diet or a diet supplemented with OFS at 0.75% in the nursery and grower phase (5.5 to 34 kg and 34 to 59 kg respectively) and 0.5% in the finisher phase (59 to 127 kg). Maternal OFS supplementation did not improve (P >0.10) sow or litter performance. There was no evidence (P >0.10) for main effects or interactions for nursery and finishing performance. On day 56 after weaning, there was an increased proportion of pigs exhibiting the families Peptostreptococcaceae and Veillonellaceae in fecal samples when fed OFS in the nursery and originating from OceanFeed OFS-fed sows. Pigs from this treatment combination also had increased mean number of species detected within the families Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae and had lower mean number of species detected within the family Fusobacteriacea. In the finishing period, no evidence for main effects or interactions (P >0.10) were observed on overall growth performance. In summary, addition of OFS in gestation, lactation, and nursery-finishing phases had no consistent effect on sow or litter performance; however, there were relative increases in beneficial bacteriain fecal microbiota, including the butyrate-producing families Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae that warrant further investigation.