Oral administration of iron and toltrazuril in combination improves survival rate and growth rate and reduces anaemia in piglets

Abstract Iron is an essential element for blood production, oxygen conveyance and energy generation. The present study was performed to determine the efficacy of an oral administration of iron and toltrazuril in combination on the growth rate, survival rate and the incidence of anaemia in suckling piglets. A total of 406 piglets were randomly allocated to one of three groups: i.) CONTROL (n = 161), the piglets were administered iron dextran 200 mg intramuscularly and toltrazuril (20 mg/kg) orally at 3 days of age; ii.) NEGATIVE (n = 84), the piglets were not treated with iron until 7 days of age, and toltrazuril was given at 5 days of age and iii.) TREATMENT (n = 161), the piglets were fed with an oral suspension of iron and toltrazuril combination at 3 days of age (iron 228 mg and toltrazuril 50 mg). Blood samples were obtained by randomly sampling piglets (n = 218) at 2 (n = 56), 7 (n = 80) and 21 days (n = 82) of age. Haemoglobin, haematocrit and completed blood count were evaluated. On average, the body weight of piglets at 0, 7 and 21 days of age did not differ among groups (P > 0.05). However, ADG values during 0–7 days of age in TREATMENT and NEGATIVE groups were higher than those in the CONTROL group (177.8, 177.7 and 160.3 g/d, respectively, P < 0.05). Piglet mortality during the first 7 days postpartum in the TREATMENT group was lower than in the CONTROL group (0.62 and 3.73%, respectively, P < 0.05). The incidences of severe diarrhoea were 5.0, 2.4 and 0% in groups i), ii) and iii), respectively (P < 0.05). The haemoglobin, haematocrit and red blood cell (RBC) counts of piglets in the CONTROL and TREATMENT groups were higher than those in the NEGATIVE group at 7 days postpartum (P < 0.05). However, at 21 days of age, piglets in the CONTROL group had a higher haemoglobin, haematocrit and RBC count than piglets in the TREATMENT group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, oral administration of iron and toltrazuril in combination is a possible needleless method for the treatment of coccidiosis and the prevention of anaemia in piglets. Interestingly, the growth rate and survival rate of piglets in the needleless piglets were better than CONTROL group.