Evaluation of Agolin® Pig on sow and piglet performance and sow fecal microbial communities during lactation
Alexandra Fisk, Wenxuan X Dong, Timothy A Johnson, KaLynn Harlow +6
AI summary
75% confidenceThis study evaluated the effects of supplementing Agolin® Pig, a micro-encapsulated essential oil blend, in sow diets during late gestation and lactation on animal performance and fecal microbiota. Results showed that while feed intake, piglet growth, and milk composition were unaffected, sows receiving the supplement maintained better body condition compared to controls. Additionally, slight changes were observed in the sow's fecal microbial communities.
Generated by MESSAI extraction pipeline · review against source PDF
Reported parameters
No values extracted from this paper yet.
No 3D model is mapped to this paper yet. Parameter ranges above still place reported values on the literature distribution.
Abstract
Lay Summary Essential oils have been explored in livestock production as a natural antimicrobial to improve overall animal health and performance. This study investigated the effects of supplementing Agolin® Pig, a combination of micro-encapsulated essential oils, in late gestation and lactating sow diets on various aspects of sow and piglet performance during lactation, as well as the sow fecal microbiota. Twenty-five sows were blocked by parity and allotted into one of two treatment groups: 1) Agolin® Pig supplementation (AGO) at 200 ppm for two weeks before farrowing, during farrowing, and throughout lactation, or 2) no supplementation as a control (CON). All diets met standard nutritional requirements. The parameters measured were sow feed intake, body condition, milk composition, piglet growth performance, and sow fecal microbiota. Results indicated that AGO did not significantly affect sow feed intake, piglet growth, or colostrum and milk composition throughout lactation. However, sows fed AGO during lactation maintained body condition as measured by the Knauer Caliper, an objective tool to standardize sow body condition. There were slight changes in sow fecal microbiota diversity between the groups post-farrowing. This study suggests that Agolin® Pig may help maintain sow body condition during lactation and influence sow fecal microbiota.
Key findings
- Agolin® Pig supplementation did not significantly affect sow feed intake or piglet growth performance throughout lactation.
- Sows fed Agolin® Pig maintained superior body condition as measured by the Knauer Caliper compared to the control group.
- Supplementation resulted in slight changes to the composition of sow fecal microbial communities.
Keywords
Identifiers
- Journal
- Translational Animal Science
- Year
- 2026