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Research: Much to gain if nursery diets match digestive capabilities.

Previous nursery feeding logic told us to feed nursery pigs based on their weaning weight. That heavier pigs had more advanced guts and could handle a more advanced diet. New research involving Nurture™, Cargill’s young pig program, shows weight isn’t the main factor in how we should be feeding pigs; we need to look at the digestive capabilities, and that is tied to their age.

Tremendous changes occur in a young pig’s digestive capabilities between seven and 35 days of age. “Until this point, the piglet’s immune system has relied heavily on colostrum and maternal antibodies from the sow,” according to Sabrina May, Pork Tech Application Lead, Cargill.

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Season 6, Episode 1: The Pig Livability Project: Past, Present and Future

Video: Season 6, Episode 1: The Pig Livability Project: Past, Present and Future

We are kicking off a new season of the PigX Podcast discussing the history of the Pig Livability Project, the current efforts and resources used to share information with the swine industry and how the project is continuing in the months ahead. Joining us on this episode are Dr. David Rosero, assistant professor at Iowa State University, and Dr. Joel DeRouchey, professor and state extension leader at Kansas State University. They will also highlight the upcoming Second International Conference on Pig Livability, taking place on November 5–6 in Omaha, Nebraska.