Effect of multi-enzyme supplements on the growth performance of piglets during the pre- and post-weaning periods

Voluntary feed intake (VFI) and daily gain (DG) were measured in pre- and post-weaning piglets which were offered a control diet or one of three commercial multi-enzyme supplements (ME1, ME2 and ME3; Experiments 1–3 respectively). ME1, ME2 and ME3 all contained starch and fibre degrading enzymes, ME1 and ME2 also contained a protease and lipase. In all experiments litter groups were paired on the basis of initial weight and size, with one of each pair receiving the plus enzyme treatment. Experiments 1, 2 and 3 were conducted with 166, 192 and 234 piglets from 24, 21 and 26 litters respectively. The wheat-based control diet was formulated to 15 MJ of digestible energy and 10 g of available lysine kg−1. Each multi-enzyme supplement was added at 2 g kg−1. Creep feeding of litter groups commenced when piglets were 21 (Experiment 1) or 14 (experiments 2 and 3) days of age. Piglets were weaned at approximately 28 days of age. VFI and DG were measured weekly for 21 days post-weaning. Multi-enzyme supplementation (control vs ME supplement) did not change post-weaning VFI (474 vs 438 g day−1) or DG (309 vs 319 g day−1) in experiment 1 (ME1) or experiment 2 (ME2) (VFI: 527 vs 517 g day−1; DG: 299 vs 282 g day−1). In experiment 3, ME3 supplementation reduced both post-weaning VFI (563 vs 491 g day−1; P = 0.03) and also reduced DG between 14 and 21 days post-weaning (576 vs 499 g day−1; P = 0.03). These results indicate that supplementing a wheat-based creep-weaner diet with these commercial enzyme supplements provided no beneficial effect and may be detrimental.