The differences between copper sulfate and tribasic copper chloride on growth performance, redox status, deposition in tissues of pigs, and excretion in feces

Objective The objective of this experiment was to compare the effects of adding 130 mg/kg Cu from either copper sulfate (CS) or tribasic copper chloride (TBCC) on growth performance, mineral deposition in tissues, and the excretion in feces of pigs as well as changes in the mineral contents in tissues and feces when the supplemental Cu level was decreased from 130 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg. Methods A total of 72 pigs (32.6±1.2 kg) were randomly assigned to a CS diet or a TBCC diet with 6 pens per treatment. The trial lasted 102 d and included 3 phases (phase 1, 1 to 30 d; phase 2, 31 to 81 d; and phase 3, 82 to 102 d). The supplemental levels of Cu in the 2 treatments were 130 mg/kg in phase 1 and 2 and 10 mg/kg in phase 3. Results The results showed that pigs fed the CS diet tended to have higher average daily gain than pigs fed the TBCC diet during d 1 to 81 (p