Comparison of virginiamycin and salinomycin as growth promoters in growing-fattening pigs
De Wilde, R.O.
Deutsche Tierärztliche Wochenschrift 91(1): 22-24
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0341-6593 PMID: 6423360 Document Number: 221296
Salinomycin, until now only used as coccidiostat in broilers, was compared as growth promoter (60 mg/kg feed) in pigs with virginiamycin (50 mg/kg in the growing period, 20 mg/kg in the finishing period). 108 pigs (10 replicates) were divided in 3 groups (control, virginiamycin, salinomycin) fed ad libitum from 25 to 100 kg, slaughtered and analysed for protein and fat content. Nitrogen of dietary and non-dietary origin was investigated in lyophilized faecal samples. Salinomycin was confirmed as a possible growth promoter in pigs, with no significant differences from virginiamycin except for feed conversion efficiency, in which salinomycin was superior. Virginiamycin had a less depressive influence on the hind gut flora than salinomycin on the basis of a higher bacterial N portion of the total faecal N output.