Diets containing carob for diarrhoea prevention in weaned pigs

The effectiveness of two different diarrhoeaprevention diets was tested using 192 newly weaned Large White pigs. The control diet contained 175 g crude protein (CP), 42 g ADF, 116 g NDF and 13.9 MJ digestible energy (DE) per kg. The ‘SM’ and ‘AP’ experimental diets comprising 20% whole carob pods plus 8% straw meal and 30% whole carob pods plus 9% apple pomace, respectively, contained 150 g CP, 106 and 146 g ADF, 190 and 245 g NDF, as well as 11.5 and 11.1MJ DE per kg, respectively. The SM diet neither reduced the number of days with diarrhoea (0.19 vs. 0.23 days per piglet fed the SM diet and the control diet, respectively; P > 0.10) nor the average fecal score (P > 0.10). By contrast, the AP diet reduced the number of days with diarrhoea (0.8 vs. 2.0 days per piglet fed the AP diet and the control diet, respectively; P < 0.01), and improved the average fecal score (P < 0.01). Since carob seeds probably increase intestinal viscosity and may thus increase the risk of diarrhoea, carob pods without seeds may be more effective in preventing diarrhoea.