Open Access

Henrike Torborg, Franz Hutterer, Michael Lütke-Dörhoff, Matthias Tünte, Kilian Fenske, Heiner Westendarp

• Piglets experience a high level of stress during the onset of the fattening phase due to changes in social structures and feeding. Incorporation of flavors in the feed supports constant levels of feed intake thus avoiding drops in performance. This study aimed to evaluate if a combination of vanilla and fruity flavors could maintain high interest in variable feeds across different ages. 384 crossbred (Topigs 20 x Piétrain) piglets were separated at weaning into two groups (eight pens per group: four pens with females and four pens with uncastrated males; 24 animals per pen), according to gender and weight. The control group received commercial starter feeds without flavor, while the other group received diets with added flavor (500 g/t Cuxarom Fruit 210, a sweetish, berry multifruit note combined with creamy vanilla). After 49 days, 264 animals from both groups were rehoused and given an early-grower feed with or without added flavor for 7 days. Consequently, animals from the trial group again received flavor-supplemented feed and vice versa. During the early-grower phase, the feed intake of the trial group was 11.2% higher than that of the control group. Moreover, the trial group gained significantly more weight during the early-grower phase (+12.2%) in comparison to the control group. This indicates that the animals prefer the flavor they were familiarized with during the starter phase. This memory effect leads to an increased feed intake and weight gain in early-grower pigs and can counteract drops in performance, particularly when mixing animals or transitioning.