What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate the effects of increasing zinc levels in low acid-binding capacity diets on pig performance and zinc metabolism.

January 23, 2026

Effects of increasing zinc in low acid binding capacity diets on nursery pig performance, fecal dry matter, zinc digestibility, and plasma zinc

Key Points

To investigate the effects of increasing zinc levels in low acid-binding capacity diets on pig performance and zinc metabolism.
360 barrows divided by body weight, assigned to dietary treatments in a randomized block design
Diets included varying levels of zinc from zinc sulfate and zinc oxide
Performance metrics measured included average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and fecal dry matter
Zinc digestibility and plasma zinc levels were assessed throughout the study
Average daily gain and feed intake positively correlated with increased zinc in the first 24 days post-weaning
No overall improvements in performance were noted after 46 days
Fecal dry matter increased significantly on the low ABC-4 diet
Zinc intake and absorption showed a significant increase with higher dietary zinc levels
Serum zinc concentrations rose with increased dietary zinc.

Abstract

Abstract A total of 360 barrows (initially 6.0 kg and 21 d of age) were used to evaluate the effects of added Zn in low acid-binding capacity at a pH of 4 (ABC-4) diets on nursery pig growth performance, fecal dry matter (DM), plasma Zn, and apparent total tract digestively (ATTD) of Zn. At weaning, pigs were divided into two body weight categories and then randomly assigned to dietary treatments in a generalized random block design. There were 5 pigs per pen and 12 pens per treatment. All diets contained 110 mg/kg of Zn from zinc sulfate in the trace mineral premix. The control treatment was a low ABC-4 diet (200 and 250 meq/kg from d 0 to 10 and 10 to 24 after weaning, respectively). In the next four diets, Zn (from zinc oxide; ZnO) was added at 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 mg/kg in phase 1, and 333, 666, 1,332, and 2,000 mg/kg in phase 2. The sixth treatment diet was formulated without considering ABC-4 (441 and 430 meq/kg from d 0 to 10 and 10 to 24, respectively) with 3,000 and 2,000 mg/kg of Zn from d 0 to 10 and 10 to 24 after weaning, respectively. In all periods, no differences were observed between pigs fed the low and high ABC-4 diets with 3,000 mg/kg Zn in phase 1 and 2,000 mg/kg Zn in phase 2, except for d-10 fecal DM, where pigs fed the low ABC-4 diet had increased (P = 0.002) fecal DM. From d 0 to 24, average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) increased (linear, P 0.05) with increasing dietary Zn, with no differences in gain: feed ratio. However, for the overall 46 d period, no response to dietary Zn was observed for any performance criteria. Zinc intake, absorption, and excretion increased linear and quadratically (P 0.001) and ATTD of Zn tended to linear increase (P = 0.074) with increasing dietary Zn. Pigs fed the low ABC-4 diet had greater (P 0.05) Zn intake, absorption, and ATTD of Zn than pigs fed the high ABC-4 diet at the same Zn concentration. No difference was observed for fecal Zn excretion between ABC-4 formulation strategies. Day 24 serum Zn concentration increased linear and quadratically (P 0.001) as dietary Zn increased, and a marginal increase (P = 0.095) in the low ABC-4 diet was observed between formulation strategies. In conclusion, low ABC-4 diets containing 3,000 and 2,000 mg/kg of Zn from ZnO in phases 1 and 2, respectively, increased d 10 fecal DM, Zn absorption, and ATTD of Zn. Increasing Zn in low ABC-4 diets improved ADG and ADFI during the first 24 d post-weaning, but not for the overall study.

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