Inclusion of dicopper oxide instead of copper sulfate in diets for growing-finishing pigs results in greater final body weight and bone mineralization, but reduced accumulation of copper in the liver.

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that inclusion of Cu oxide (Cu2O) in diets for growing-finishing pigs improves body weight (BW) and bone mineralization, and reduces accumulation of Cu in the liver compared with pigs fed diets containing Cu sulfate (CuSO4). Two hundred growing pigs (initial BW: 11.5 ± 0.98 kg) were allotted to a randomized complete block design with 2 blocks of 100 pigs, 5 dietary treatments, 5 pigs per pen, and a total of 8 pens per treatment. Treatments included the negative control (NC) diet that contained 20 mg Cu/kg, and 4 diets in which 125 or 250 mg Cu/kg from CuSO4 or Cu2O were added to the NC diet. The experiment was divided into 4 phases and concluded when pigs reached market weight. Pig weights were recorded on day 1 and at the end of each phase and feed provisions were recorded throughout the experiment. On the last day of phases 1 and 4, 1 pig per pen was sacrificed to obtain samples of liver and spleen tissue, and the right metacarpal was collected. Results indicated that pigs fed diets containing 250 mg Cu/kg from CuSO4 had greater BW at the end of phases 1 and 2 than pigs fed NC diets. Pigs fed diets containing 250 mg Cu/kg from Cu2O had greater (P < 0.05) BW at the end of phases 1, 2, 3, and 4 compared with pigs fed NC diets, and these pigs also had greater BW at the end of phases 3 and 4 than pigs fed all other diets. Pigs fed the diets with 250 mg Cu/kg tended to have greater (P < 0.10) feed intake than pigs fed the NC diet at the end of phase 2, and for the overall experimental period, pigs fed diets containing 250 mg Cu/kg from Cu2O had greater (P < 0.05) feed intake than pigs on all other treatments. However, no differences in gain:feed ratio were observed among treatments. Copper accumulation in liver and spleen increased with Cu dose, but at the end of phase 1, pigs fed 250 mg Cu/kg from CuSO4 had greater (P < 0.05) Cu concentration in liver and spleen than pigs fed 250 mg Cu/kg from Cu2O. Pigs fed diets containing 250 mg Cu/kg from Cu2O had greater (P < 0.05) quantities of bone ash and greater (P < 0.05) concentrations of Ca, P, and Cu in bone ash than pigs fed NC diets or the 2 diets containing CuSO4, but Zn concentration in bone ash was less (P < 0.05) in pigs fed diets containing 250 mg Cu/kg from Cu2O. To conclude, supplementing diets for growing pigs with Cu2O improves growth performance and bone mineralization with less Cu accumulation in liver compared with pigs fed diets containing CuSO4.