Most of the starter feeds for piglets are recommended to use whey powder. However, since whey powder is mainly imported, it is expensive, used in large quantities, large, deliquescent and agglomerated, and difficult to store. In medium and small feed mills and breeding the market will be more inclined to choose calcium formate for use.
In recent years, there have been many domestic reports on the use of acidifiers such as citric acid and fumaric acid in piglets, which can significantly reduce diarrhea caused by feed indigestion and inhibit leprosy. It can also reduce piglet mortality and increase piglet growth rate.
Citric acid, fumaric acid, etc. are also used on the market, but they are prone to deliquescence and agglomeration. Adding them in the form of free organic acids often makes the feed production process more acidic and seriously corrodes equipment, resulting in poor feed mixing and low practical value.
Calcium formate can decompose at temperatures above 400°C and will not be damaged during the granulation process. The presence of trace amounts of formic acid will not cause damage to production equipment. Added to the feed in a neutral form, trace amounts of formic acid will be released through the biochemical effects of the digestive tract of piglets after eating, thereby achieving the purpose of lowering the pH value of the gastrointestinal tract, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract, and reducing the risk of piglets The role of illness.
Comparison of calcium formate and calcium lactate, their pH values in water are 7.2 for calcium formate and 6.5~7.0 for calcium lactate. It seems that calcium lactate has better performance than calcium formate. In fact, when calcium lactate is increased to a certain amount, it will Limit or weaken the effect of gastric acid (hydrochloric acid), and the phenomenon of piglet overfeeding can be observed, while calcium formate does not have this problem.
