COPPER SULPHATE AND ANTIBIOTIC- FREE PIGLET DIET.

Copper sulphate is an old additive that has received renewed interest with the ban of zinc oxide and antibiotics. Long before the advent of zinc oxide, another mineral used to dominate piglet feeds: copper sulphate. It was known to reduce or prevent piglet diarrhea and, as such, it improved animal growth rate and feed efficiency. when the need to rotate antibiotics from batch to batch was necessary, copper sulphate remained a constant addition to even the simplest corn-soybean meal-type diets. With the introduction of zinc oxide, the effects of copper sulphate appeared to wane, but it never completely left the scene, mostly because it is very inexpensive. Supplementing piglet diets with high dosages of zinc oxide is under pressure worldwide. The European Union which has imposed an otherwise restrictive feed legislation, it is common practice to add pharmacological doses of zinc oxide, but only under veterinary prescription.( WATTAgnet.com) Even in the U.S., this ingredient is under scrutiny, along with growth-promoting antibiotics. Luckily, long experiences in the EU have demonstrated that we can replace both antibiotics and high dosages of zinc oxide. This is done through feed reformulation and the use of alternative additives. One of those is, naturally, copper sulphate; old technology at the rescue due to new regulations! Using just a bit of copper sulphate to be sure is not going to harm animals, but it is not going to help them either. Going back to original research, we need 250 ppm to get the full result, and at least 150 ppm to start seeing an effect. And, if we accept the hypothesis of copper sulphate being a bactericide, then we need the highest possible dosage exactly when pathogen pressure is highest. .