"Healthy Guts, Better Growth and Smoother Operations"
AHV Qure Protect Proves Its Value on the Farm
With 400 sows and 2,200 finishing pigs, Hans Wilmsen from Ysselsteyn has no shortage of work. For him, it is therefore extra important that everything in the barn runs smoothly. Recently,AHV Qure Protect was tested at Wilmsen’s farm, with impressive results.
“Everything has to run smoothly in the barn. I want as little work as possible with sick animals. I practically run the business on my own, which keeps me more than busy enough. I want to prevent problems before they occur, and that means keeping the animals healthy.”
These are the words of pig farmer Hans Wilmsen from Ysselsteyn in North Limburg, he must have his animal health well under control. Hans works closely with swine specialists from Animal Health Vision (AHV). His farm also serves as a trial location for this producer of complementary feeds.
“About three years ago, I was approached by Paul Steenbekkers from AHV, whom I already knew. He was looking for a farm where he could test products under practical conditions. I agreed under two conditions: firstly, that it would not create extra work for me, and secondly, that results had to stay at least the same or improve. If things did not go as expected, adjustments would be made. I already had a lot of trust in Paul’s way of working, so I was not worried about that.”
Complementary Feeds
AHV’s products are designed to support animal health. They are complementary feeds of natural origin. Thanks to the so-called Quorum Sensing technology, the communication between bacteria is disrupted, which reduces the formation of bacterial biofilms. At the same time, the pig’s immune system is activated, allowing the animal’s own body to eliminate pathogens. The products also support metabolism and provide the animal with extra energy.
Well-known AHV products used in pig farming include AHV FarrowPREP, Control Liquid, Qure Liquid and HiQure Liquid. Over time, almost the entire AHV portfolio has been tried, tested and proven at Wilmsen’s farm.
Supporting Gut Health
One of the most recent products used on the farm is AHV Qure Protect Powder. This is the sister product to AHV Qure and HiQure Liquid, but in a dry, powdered in-feed solution. It can be added to feed by the manufacturer or the pig farmer, in pellet, meal, crumble or liquid feed. Qure Protect is coated with microcapsules, protecting it against environmental factors.
Like AHV (Hi)Qure Liquid, Qure Protect has a positive effect on gut health. It supports the immune system, improves feed intake and helps break down biofilm. This last point is important, as pathogens often hide within biofilms, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. Breaking down the biofilm releases these bacteria, allowing the immune system to tackle them directly.
Qure Protect also contains a few additional ingredients compared to (Hi)Qure Liquid, which provides extra support to the intestines.
“They strengthen the intestinal wall, with the goal of preventing leaky gut syndrome,” explains Dinise Meerdink, Product Manager Swine at AHV. “You mainly use Qure Liquid or HiQure Liquid to prevent a weaning dip. Piglets continue to drink after weaning, but feed intake can drop. If you experience problems later in the round, such as growth depression, runts or higher mortality, you can use Qure Protect. An additional advantage is that aggression caused by leaky guts also decreases.”
Meerdink joins us at Wilmsen’s kitchen table. With her are the results of the latest trial with Qure Protect at the farm, which she is eager to share.
TRIAL WITH QURE PROTECT
The trial with Qure Protect was conducted to test the effects of the complementary feed on growth, feed efficiency and health improvement in weaned piglets. Piglets from the same weaning group were weighed and evenly divided across twelve pens, each containing fourteen piglets. From day 1 to day 28 after weaning, half of the pens received feed containing Qure Protect, at a dosage of two kilograms per tonne of feed. The Qure Protect was incorporated into the pellets by feed supplier Vitelia Voeders. The other half of the pens received the same feed, but without Qure Protect. Only AHV staff knew which pens received which feed.
The animals were weighed on day 1, after one week, after 28 days and after 42 days. On day 42, the piglets were assessed for feed intake, required treatments, mortality and aggression damage. Both Meerdink and Wilmsen are pleased with the results.On day 42, the piglets that received Qure Protect showed 1.98 kilograms of additional growth,” Meerdink explains. “In the control group, 3.57 percent of the weaned piglets became ill, with one death and one piglet lagging behind. In the Qure Protect group, there were no cases of illness. The piglets in this group also had significantly less aggression damage to ears, tails and flanks. We saw aggression in only one pen in the test group, compared to three pens in the control group. That immediately stood out.”
To assess the long-term effects of Qure Protect, the animals were also monitored during the finishing phase. Their weight and growth were tracked. It turned out that the pigs continued to benefit from their stronger start. Piglets that received Qure Protect during weaning were, 91 days after placement, an average of 6.6 kilograms heavier, of which 4.4 kilograms were gained during the finishing period.
“That corresponds to an extra growth of 48 grams per day, which shortens the overall growth period by about seven to eight days,” Meerdink calculates.
What Does QURE PROTECT Deliver?
That Qure Protect improves technical performance became clear from the trial at Wilmsen’s farm. Piglets in the Qure Protect group generated an average of €1.17 more profit per piglet after accounting for feed and health costs compared to the control group. This was due to the absence of mortality or lagging piglets and the additional two kilograms of weight per piglet.
Feed costs per piglet were slightly higher in the Qure Protect group due to improved feed intake, and of course, the cost of Qure Protect must also be included. But ultimately, with €1.17 per piglet remaining as additional profit, using Qure Protect proves to be an interesting option in the weaner barn, not to mention the financial benefit resulting from the extra growth in the finishing stage.
*Aggression damage was assessed by counting the number of animals with injuries to ears, tails and flanks.
Still Not Finished Testing
Both Meerdink and Wilmsen are delighted with the results. However, that does not mean testing Qure Protect is over.
“There is still plenty to explore,” says Meerdink. “For example, we want to see how the product performs if we use a slightly leaner feed formulation. Will the piglets still perform as well as those fed a standard, more energy-dense diet? We also plan to test whether Qure Protect can be used at lower inclusion rates while maintaining the same results. These trials can also be carried out on this farm, which is great. We want to understand how our products perform under real-life farming conditions, and here we can get an excellent picture of that.”
Pig farmer Wilmsen is equally enthusiastic, as he can see the effect for himself.
“I just want everything to run smoothly in the barn. That may cost a little extra, but with products like this, you get both: it runs smoothly and it makes money. What more could you want?”
AHV SWINE SOLUTIONS
Product mentioned in this article:
AHV Qure Protect Powder
WEANING PIGLETS
WEANING PIGLETS
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1xAHV Qure Liquid -
1xAHV HiQure Liquid -
1xAHV Qure Protect
