Creep feeding is the practice of providing nursing piglets with a solid, supplementary diet while they are still suckling the sow. This preparatory step introduces the young animal to non-liquid nutrients and textures, but it is not a replacement for milk. The goal is to prepare the piglet’s digestive system for the abrupt change at weaning, maximizing growth potential and ensuring a smoother transition to a starter diet.
Why Piglets Need Supplemental Nutrition
The rationale for supplemental nutrition stems from the limitations of the sow’s milk supply and the increasing demands of the rapidly growing piglet. A sow’s milk production typically peaks around three weeks post-farrowing, but the piglet’s nutritional requirements increase substantially afterward. For modern, high-producing litters, the sow’s capacity to supply sufficient energy and protein through milk alone is quickly exceeded.
Introducing a solid diet is necessary to stimulate the physiological development of the gastrointestinal tract. Piglets are born with high levels of the enzyme lactase, adapted for digesting milk sugar, but they possess low activity levels of enzymes needed for processing solid feed. The enzymes amylase and sucrase, required to break down starches and complex carbohydrates, are underdeveloped.
Early exposure to creep feed encourages the gut to begin producing specific digestive enzymes, priming the digestive system for life after weaning. This nutritional and physiological gap must be filled to allow the piglet to transition from a highly digestible liquid diet to a solid, plant-based diet without severe digestive upset.
Implementing the Feeding Schedule
The introduction of creep feed must be carefully managed to encourage consumption and maximize benefits. The optimal age to begin offering a supplemental diet is between five and ten days after farrowing, allowing piglets time to recover from birth and establish a suckling routine.
Initially, the feed should be presented on a flat surface, such as a heavy mat or a shallow tray, rather than in a deep feeder. This method encourages exploration and makes the feed easily accessible to the piglets. Offering very small amounts of fresh feed multiple times a day, ideally two to three times daily, maintains palatability and prevents spoilage.
Feeders should be placed in a clean, dry, and easily accessible area of the pen, away from the sow’s dunging or water areas to prevent contamination. Offering the feed when the sow is standing and eating is effective, as the piglets are awake and actively seeking nourishment. Once piglets begin consuming the feed regularly, transition to a dedicated creep feeder to reduce wastage and improve hygiene.
Essential Ingredients and Formulation
The composition of a high-quality creep feed is designed for maximum palatability and digestibility, reflecting the immature state of the piglet’s digestive system. Since piglets are accustomed to the high lactose content of sow milk, formulations include milk proteins and milk sugars, such as dried skim milk or whey products, to enhance taste and acceptance.
Protein sources must be of the highest quality and highly digestible to prevent undigested protein from reaching the hindgut, which can lead to digestive issues. Specialized ingredients like blood plasma proteins or fish meal are included due to their superior amino acid profile and digestibility. Plant-based proteins, like soybean meal, are minimized in the initial creep diets.
The feed must be energy-dense, achieved through the inclusion of highly digestible fats or oils to support the piglet’s rapid growth. The physical form of the feed plays a role in intake, with soft pellets or crumbs preferred over mash, as they are easier for the piglet to handle and consume.
Creep Feeding and Weaning Success
Successful creep feeding correlates directly to improved performance post-weaning by mitigating the nutritional and environmental stressors of the transition. Piglets that have consumed solid feed prior to separation maintain a higher feed intake immediately following weaning. This familiarity helps reduce the “post-weaning growth lag,” the period of reduced or negative growth observed when piglets abruptly switch from milk to a solid diet.
Consuming creep feed supports the integrity of the intestinal lining, helping maintain a healthier gut structure with taller villi. This improved gut health translates into greater nutrient absorption capacity and a reduction in post-weaning digestive disorders.
While not all studies show significant increases in weaning weight, creep feeding consistently results in higher average daily gain and feed intake during the nursery phase. It helps reduce the variation in body weight among littermates, leading to a more uniform group of animals entering the next production stage.