Effects of milk replacer and starter diet provided as creep feed for suckling XXXX on pre- and post-weaning growth.

@entity1707 @entity9365 @entity353
This study was aimed at investigating the long-term effects of provision of liquid milk replacer (MR) and solid starter diet (SD) during lactation on post-weaning (PW) growth of @entity1707 . In experiment 1, 33 cross-bred litters were allotted to four treatments: no supplement (CON), MR   ad libitum, SD   ad libitum and 100   g SD/litter/day from lactation day 4 through weaning at day 21 during late fall. In experiment 2, 40 litters received MR or none in July. PW @entity1707 received commercial diets to marketing. In experiment 1, @entity353 ( @entity353 ), pre-weaning average daily gain ( @entity9365 ) and mortality (2.4%) were not influenced by creep-feeding MR or SD. @entity9365 was greater (P   <   0.05) in the MR group versus CON during days 21-54, but did not differ across the treatments during days 54-162. In experiment 2, @entity9365 during lactation and @entity353 were greater in the MR group versus CON, with mortality lower in the former (5.6 vs. 10.3%). However, PW @entity9365 to day 175 did not differ between the two groups. Results suggest that creep-feeding MR or SD has no effect on PW growth. However, it remains possible that MR reduces PW mortality during the hot season.
