| This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of coated zinc oxide(ZnO) encapsulated with stearic acid on growth performance and diarrhea of weanling piglets in the farm. A total of 96 crossbred(Duroc × Landrace ×Yorkshire) weaned piglets were allotted randomly, on weaning age(26±2 Days) and initial weight(about 7Kg), to four groups with 3 replicates per group and 8 pigs per replicate in a completely randomized design for 14 days. Groups consisted of a low control group fed basal diets without ZnO, a high control group fed 3000mg/kg ZnO of basal diet, two treatments fed 450 and 750mg/kg coated ZnO of basal diets, respectively. The results showed as follows: 1) Adding 3000mg/kg ZnO significantly enhanced growth performance(P<0.05) and decreased diarrhea(P<0.01), but the fecal Zn also increased significantly(P<0.01), the average daily gain and the average daily feed intake raised 79.04% and 31.07%, the ratio of feed to gain reduced 26.91% compared with the low control group. 2) Adding 450 mg/kg coated ZnO significantly decreased diarrhea index(P<0.01) compared with the low control group, but had no significant differences on growth performance(P>0.05). 3) Adding 750 mg/kg coated ZnO significantly enhanced growth performance(P<0.05) and decreased diarrhea(P<0.01) compared with the low control group, but had significant differences with the high control group(P<0.05). 4) Adding 450 and 750 mg/kg coated ZnO reduced fecal Zn significantly compared with the high control group(P<0.01). It implied that 750 mg/kg coated ZnO has the potential as an alternative to 3000mg/kg ZnO. Further experiment should be done to decide the best dosage of coated ZnO with the purpose of promoting growth performance of pigs and reducing environmental pollution. |
