Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology

The aim was to examine production performance, carcass characteristics, and intestinal histomorphology of weaned piglets (28-to 54-day-old) fed diet with 3 or 5 g of sodium butyrate per kg of diet (group II and III). Groups II and III had higher final live weight and total weight gain. The feed to gain ratio was the best in group I. The highest carcass yield was of group III. Significant differences (P<0.05) were observed in Escherischia coli counts in small intestine between control (I) and experimental groups (II and III), and in cecum between control (I) and experimental group II. There were significant differences (P<0.05) between all groups for the intestine length, intestine weight, and both height and width of the ileal villus. The highest villus height/crypt depth ratio of jejunum occurred in group II piglets, while the highest villus height/crypt depth ratio of ileum was in piglets from group III. The significant correlations were determined between amount of sodium butyrate and final live weight, intestinal length, intestinal weight, jejunal and ileal crypt depth, and ileal villus widths.