Effects of dietary silicate levels on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal microflora, odorous gas emissions, blood characteristics, and foot and mouth disease antibodies in weaning to finishing pigs

The goal of this study was to investigate effects of different levels of silicate supplementation in weaning to finishing pigs. A total of 96 piglets [(Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc] with initial body weight of 11.30 ± 0.02 kg were used for 16 wk (six replicate pens with four pigs per pen). Dietary treatment consisted of 0% (CON), 0.1% (T1), 0.5% (T2), and 1.0% (T3) silicate in the basal diet. Inclusion of 0.1% dietary silicate increased (P < 0.05) body weight, average daily gain, and gain-to-feed ratio in 0–16 wk. In addition, inclusion of 0.1% dietary silicate increased (P < 0.05) crude protein digestibility in 8 and 16 wk, whereas it decreased (P < 0.05) Escherichia coli count and ammonia emissions throughout the study period. Additionally, inclusion of dietary silicate increased (linear, P < 0.05) white blood cell in 4 wk, whereas it increased (quadratic, P < 0.05) white blood cell counts in 8 and 16 wk. Blood urea nitrogen decreased (quadratic, P < 0.05), and lymphocyte and foot and mouth antibodies increased (quadratic, P < 0.05) when silicate level increased. In conclusion, supplementation of 0.1% silicate in the diet showed positive effects in weaning to finishing pigs.