East Coast Viners Animal Nutrition and Cranswick Plc

ECV have been the sole distributor of Cranswick’s starter diet products within Scotland for the past six years, having initially evaluated and confirmed their quality and cost effectiveness. A full range of high quality, highly digestible, Starter and Link diets are available to encompass the variety of management systems. Creep feeds are manufactured in Cranswick’s specialist piglet feed plant and supplied as 2mm mini pellets or as meal.

For advice and prices please give us a call!

PIGLET STARTER DIETS

Supreme Choice
Supreme Choice is designed to encourage early intake of solid feed and can be used for the first 4 / 5 days post-weaning as a complimentary feed to the normal Cranswick Starter diet fed. Because of its high level of skim milk powder, Supreme Choice is only available in meal form (10kg bags).

First Choice
Containing exceptionally high levels of milk products First Choice is ideally suited for feeding as a creep and to “disadvantaged” piglets post-weaning. “Disadvantaged” piglets in this context would relate primarily to:-

(i) animals of poor weaning weight (regardless of weaning age);
(ii) animals of light weaning weight, due to age at weaning (< 5.0kgs);
(iii) animals housed (managed) under conditions of stress.

When used in these circumstances the “starting point” needs to be considered to determine accurately at which stage the second-stage diet should be introduced. For example, 4.0-4.5kg pigs at weaning (which perhaps shouldn’t be weaned anyway?) would probably benefit from as much as 8 / 10 days on the First Choice prior to changing onto the second-stage diet, whereas animals weaned at an average of 5.0kgs may only require 4 / 5 days prior to being changed onto the second diet. The second diet chosen in each case would be determined by the weight gain achieved on the First Choice during the period this diet was fed.

More recently (particularly post PRRS / PMWS) we have been persuading farmers to feed a small quantity of First Choice to all pigs post-weaning (i.e., for a period of 4 / 5 days) regardless of weaning weight, as it is our belief that all newly weaned animals suffer a dramatic drop in enzyme production at weaning and as such, can benefit from higher specification diets. The quantity of First Choice fed in this manner is usually between ½ - ¾ kg per pig. Again the second diet fed after the First Choice would be dependent on initial weaning weights, but invariably from our experience would either be Cranstart 150, Cranstart 2 or Cranstart 250.

Cranwean
Low protein starter diet to be used primarily in situations where post-weaning scours are a re-current problem. Can be fed as a creep feed on the sow if required and suitable for weaned piglets >5.0kgs in weight at weaning. Ideally only feed for 7-10 days post-weaning.

Cranstart 1
Cranstart 1 was the flagship starter diet in the Cranswick Starter Diet range, specifically suited for feeding as a creep feed on the sow and then for piglets of between 5.0 / 5.5kgs at weaning. Historically, in the UK anyway, people were always quite happy to feed Cranstart 1 as the first stage starter diet even if they were weaning heavier pigs. To a certain extent the introduction of First Choice into our starter diet range has reduced the percentage sales of Cranstart 1, as producers have shifted towards the First Choice followed by Cranstart 150 / Cranstart 2 / Cranstart 250 route. Cranstart 1 is ideal, however, where producers are not weaning particularly strong pigs (or are weaning into stressful environments etc) and are only prepared to feed one starter diet prior to the introduction of the weaner diet (at approximately 12kgs).

Cranstart 150
Cranstart 150 has been formulated for use as a creep feed on the sow and then for feeding to the slightly stronger piglet (5.5 / 5.0kgs) at weaning. Cranstart 150 can be cost-effectively fed up until 12 kgs however, if a link-type diet (Cranstart 300?) is to be fed, this can be introduced after feeding the Cranstart 150 for a minimum of 10 days.

Cranstart 2
Designed for the slightly stronger piglet at weaning (6.0/6.5kgs), but suitable also for feeding as a creep feed on the sow (from 7 / 10 days of age).

Cranstart 2, like Cranstart 150, should be fed for a minimum of 10 days post-weaning prior to the introduction of the link / weaner diet (at the appropriate weights).

Cranstart 150 and Cranstart 2 are being very successfully used both in the UK and on the continent, as a follow on diet post weaning after First Choice. Although Cranstart 150 and Cranstart 2 are perfectly suitable as creep feeds on the sow, if First Choice is to be used in conjunction with these diets, it would be more common to use First Choice for feeding on the sow.

Cranstart 250
Cranstart 250 is a slightly cheaper version of Cranstart 2. Whilst it is perfectly suitable as a first stage starter diet (for strong pigs at weaning 6.0 / 6.5kgs) experience has shown that best results are obtained if this diet is used as a follow on diet after First Choice or Cranwean have been fed for 4 / 5 days.

Cranstart 300
Used as a link diet, after the first stage starter diet and prior to the introduction of the true weaner diet, Cranstart 300 can be fed successfully and cost-effectively from approximately 7kgs live weight through to 14 / 15kgs.

Interlink
A second stage link diet ideally fed from 10 days post-weaning (minimum transfer
weight 8 / 9kgs) through to approximately 15 / 16kgs live weight.

Weanalink 8-20
Weanalink 8-20 can be successfully introduced as a second stage link diet at approximately 8 / 9kgs and fed cost-effectively up to 17 / 18kgs.