Influence of creep feeding and dietary intake after weaning on malabsorption and occurrence of diarrhoea in the newly weaned pig.

The influence the pattern of creep feeding has on the ability of pigs to absorb xylose after weaning at three weeks old was investigated. All weaned pigs showed a reduction in their ability to absorb xylose one week after weaning, but this was not influenced by the pattern of creep feeding before weaning. Diarrhoea occurred in some animals after weaning, but did not occur in pigs which did not have access to creep food before weaning. This protective effect of withholding creep food was associated with a low dietary intake after weaning with this regimen. Pigs which developed diarrhoea tended to be those which consumed more meal after weaning than their contemporaries. Haemolytic enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and rotaviruses were present in the faeces of most pigs after weaning, but, in those animals that ate too much and developed diarrhoea, excretion of the E coli continued for approximately twice as long as in animals that remained healthy.