Creep feed provision in the farrowing room provides benefits to piglets showing evidence of intake.

INTRODUCTION Off ering supplemental feed in farrowing (creep feeding) is thought to benefi t piglets by 1) providing supplemental nutrition 2) aiding the adaptation of the gastrointestinal tract to nutrients not found in milk, including proteins and 3) introducing solid feed to the piglets. However, a study published in last year’s annual report (Beaulieu et al. 2010. Annual Research Reports. Weaning at 28 days. Is creep feeding benefi cial?) provided data showing that the provision of creep feed in the farrowing room for 7 days prior to weaning had no eff ect on weaning weights, suggesting off ering creep didn’t increase overall nutrient intake. Surprisingly, this conclusion was the same for the light and heavy pigs within a litter. Moreover, this data showed that piglets from litters off ered creep in farrowing were less inclined to visit the feeder in the nursery immediately post-weaning. This implies that there were no behavioural benefi ts from the early introduction of solid feed.