Wet feeding and water and rations with sweetener for piglets weaned at 21 days and its effects on performance at 90 kg live weight. [Portuguese]

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of wet feeding and the addition of sweetener in the drinking water and rations of weaned piglets on their performance at 90 kg liveweight. 32 castrated male piglets (Large White x Landrace), weaned at 21 days and allocated during the initial phase 1 (21-42 days of age), were used in 8 treatments: different types of diet (dry and wet), sweetener in the diet (with and without) and drinking water (with and without sweetener). The incidence of diarrhoea at 10 days after weaning, daily weight gain, daily ration intake and feed conversion up to 90 kg were evaluated. Daily water intake was evaluated during the initial phase 1. The results showed significant differences (P<0.05) in daily water intake for dry diet and daily ration intake for water with sweetener. The incidence of diarrhoea was significantly greater (P<0.05) for the dry diet as compared to the other treatments. The performance was similar (P>0.05) between factors up to 90 kg liveweight. The experiment indicated that the treatments applied to weaned piglets were insufficient to improve the performance at 90 kg liveweight.