Rearing piglets requires high feed mix quality

Poorly digestible components place strain on the metabolism and often cause digestive disorders, and this in turn causes performance to drop and losses to increase, particularly during the weaning phase and in the first few weeks of piglet feeding.

Selecting highly digestible components is essential in successful piglet feeding, and the use of Ceravital, a fermented product, substantially optimises piglet feeding.

It acts specifically to support the animals’ own metabolic function when breaking down poorly digestible carbohydrate components in feed (raw fibre), converting plant sources of protein and digesting fats. The product forms part of the standard line of Schaumann products for piglet feeding.

A recent trial conducted at the Futterkamp Teaching and Experimental Centre in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) has confirmed that the offers great potential for increasing performance. Schauma-früh and Schauma-fa II, two proven products for piglet rearing, were tested with and without Ceravital in 2-phase piglet rearing. In the first two weeks of rearing, the CeravitaL group achieved 12 % higher growth and 9% higher feed conversion per kg of growth, with almost identical daily feed intakes.

Overall, the Ceravital group reached destocking weights of 0.4 kg above the control group with identical feed quantities and stocking weights. With current piglet returns and feed costs, this measurable effect alone represents a benefit of €0.70 per piglet.