Continuous use of the anthelmintic oxibendazole in feed of pigs from weaning to market weight.

Abstract

Fourty-eight pigs crossbred Largo White, Landrace and Duroc, were divided in two groups (medicated and control), in order to evaluate the continuous use of oxibendazole, using six replications with four piglets por experimental unit. Animals were all borrows fifty days old, recently weaned. Differences in age were smaller than seven days. All pigs were purchased frorn one farm located in the County of Itaguaí, RJ, Brazil. The medicated group received oxibendazole in feed continuously at a rate of 15 grams of active product per metric ton of feed (15 ppm), from weaning to market weight at 90 kg live weight. Pigs of both groups were challenged with 200 infective eggs of Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis and 200 infective larvae of Oesophagostomum spp, during ten consecutive days starting on day zero of the experiment. Sixty days later they were submitted to the samme inoculum, exception to T. suis. The use of oxibendazole in feed at 15 ppm was 100% effective in preventing infection with A. suurn and Oesophagostomum spp, and 99.6% effective in relation to Trichuris suis. Pigs which received medicated feed reached market weight 25 days before nonmedicated pigs and had a better feed conversion and a return of US$ 5.62 per animal, equivalent to 5.88% of the total value of a control pig.