What Roles Does Feed-Grade Calcium Formate Play in Piglet Breeding?

What Roles Does Feed-Grade Calcium Formate Play in Piglet Breeding?

As a novel feed additive, feed-grade calcium formate exerts a crucial effect on the growth of animals when added to their feed. The success of pig breeding largely depends on the protein and calcium content in concentrated feed. Particularly during the growth period of piglets, adding an appropriate amount of feed ingredients like feed-grade calcium formate can better enhance their growth and development performance. Raising healthy piglets is not merely about ensuring they eat well, sleep soundly and grow rapidly; instead, it requires scientific breeding practices, a focus on meeting their nutritional needs, and enhanced feeding management. The key to the growth and development of piglets lies in nutrition. If the concentrated feed lacks sufficient energy and protein, piglets will fail to gain weight even with a large feed intake.

After weaning, piglets are fed concentrated feed. However, since their bodies are not yet physiologically mature at this stage and all visceral systems are still in the process of gradual development, their digestion and absorption capacity of concentrated feed remains inadequate. As an additive, feed-grade calcium formate can effectively lower and regulate the pH value of the digestive tract in animals, boost digestion and the absorption of nutrients, and also possess disease-preventing and health-enhancing properties, with particularly notable effects on piglets.

Feed-grade calcium formate is an organic calcium supplement, which is more readily digested and absorbed by piglets. Adding it to concentrated feed contributes to the healthy growth of piglets—it stimulates their appetite, reduces the incidence of diarrhea, and strengthens their bones. The unabsorbed high concentrations of copper, zinc, and iron in concentrated feed are excreted in feces. In contrast, the heavy metal content in feed-grade calcium formate is subject to strict control standards.

Serving as an acidifier, feed-grade calcium formate can reduce the acid-binding capacity of feed and adjust the pH value of the animal's gastrointestinal tract. Meanwhile, it boasts a high calcium content and low moisture content. When mixed into additive-containing premixes, it will not cause vitamin loss. After entering the piglet's stomach, feed-grade calcium formate releases free formic acid under the action of hydrochloric acid. This plays a positive role in maintaining an optimal acid level in the digestive tract and effectively reduces the occurrence of piglet diarrhea.

Feed-grade calcium formate has a wide range of applications. It can be used as an acidifier, mildew inhibitor, and bacteriostatic agent in various types of animal feed. It can replace citric acid, fumaric acid, and other feed acidifiers. It can reduce and regulate the pH value of the digestive tract, promote digestion and nutrient absorption, and offer disease-prevention and health-care benefits, with remarkably significant effects especially on piglets.

As a feed ingredient, feed-grade calcium formate is particularly suitable for weaned piglets. It can inhibit the reproduction of intestinal microorganisms, activate pepsinogen, improve the feed conversion rate, and increase the survival rate and average daily gain rate of piglets. Additionally, piglets that consume feed supplemented with feed-grade calcium formate can be effectively protected against digestive disorders such as diarrhea and dysentery.