The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with a blend of organic acids, zinc oxide and the B-Safe® herbal product on nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance and growth performance in weaned piglets. Nutrient digestibility was determined by a simple balance method, on 24 weaners (PIC) with average body weight of 28 kg, divided into four groups of six animals each. A five-day experimental period was preceded by a seven-day adjustment period. A production trial was carried out on 1279 weaned piglets that were fed four experimental diets: a control diet without feed additives (A), a diet supplemented with a blend of organic acids at 5 kg t⁻¹ (B), a diet supplemented with zinc oxide at 3 kg t⁻¹ (C), and a diet supplemented with the B-Safe® herbal product at 3 kg t⁻¹ (D). The experiment lasted 19 days. A mashed starter diet was offered ad libitum. The body weights of piglets and feed intake were determined at the beginning and at the end (day 19) of the experiment. The inclusion of an organic acid blend, zinc oxide and the B-Safe® herbal product in weaner diets highly significantly improved the digestibility of crude protein, crude fat (P ≤ 0.01) and organic matter (P ≤ 0.05). Nitrogen retention was higher in weaners fed a diet supplemented with zinc oxide at 3 kg t⁻¹ (group C) than in control group animals (20.15 vs. 17.59 g, P ≤ 0.01). The feed conversion ratio (FCR) was highly significantly lower in weaned piglets fed zinc oxide or B- Safe® at 3 kg t⁻¹, compared with the control group (1.50 and 1.47 vs. 1.70 kg kg⁻¹).
Two complete diets for weaned piglets were analyzed. Control diet I was composed of soybean meal, ground barley, ground wheat, premix and acids. Experimental diet II was supplemented with 0.1% Vilocym, a blend of herbal extracts (Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Allium sativum, Andrographis paniculata, Solanum nigrum) and sodium-calcium aluminosilicates. Nutrient digestibility was determined by a simple balance method, on 16 young barrows [(Polish Large White x Polish Landrace) x Duroc] with average initial body weight of 25 kg, assigned to two dietary treatments. A five-day experimental period proper was preceded by a seven-day adjustment period. A production trial was carried out on a pig farm, and it involved 240 weaners with average initial body weight of 20.5 kg, divided into two groups. Each group comprised four pens, with 30 animals per pen. The experiment lasted 30 days. Dietary supplementation with herbal extracts and aluminosilicates improved the digestibility of crude fat, total protein and organic matter. Weaned piglets fed Vilocym were characterized by higher daily gains than control group animals (725 g vs. 665 g, P ≤ 0.05). Feed consumption per kg body weight gain was significantly lower in group II (2.14 g/kg vs. 2.33 g/kg, P ≤ 0.05).