Feeding Strategies to Improve the Health or Development of Piglets
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 2298
Special Issue Editors
Interests: pig and poultry nutrition; intestinal health; sow–piglets nutrition transfer; feed additives; gut microbiota
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: maternal and offspring nutrition; intestinal development and health; precision feeding techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
It is well accepted that the early-life phase of piglets is a pivotal window for shaping their health, growth trajectory, and resilience to stressors, particularly during the challenging transition from suckling and weaning. This Special Issue focuses on cutting-edge nutritional interventions designed to address critical issues such as gut dysbiosis, immune immaturity, and metabolic disruptions. Contributions will highlight advances in functional feed additives (e.g., postbiotics, phytogenics, enzymes, etc.), precision-formulated diets, and strategies to enhance nutrient digestibility and health status of piglets. Emphasis is placed on the interplay between maternal dietary programming and offspring outcomes, as well as sustainable approaches to reduce reliance on antibiotics. By bridging foundational research with practical applications, this collection aims to empower producers and researchers to optimize piglet health, mitigate post-weaning morbidity, and support the global shift toward ethical, efficient swine production systems.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas include the following:
- Gestation and lactation nutrition interventions on piglets’ development;
- Functional feed additives or strategies to enhance nutrient digestibility or health status of piglets;
- Sustainable approaches to reduce reliance on antibiotics;
- Interventions on post-weaning diarrhea;
- Environmental stressors (heat stress, poor sanitation, overcrowding, etc.) on the health status of piglets
- Nutritional imbalances, such as deficiencies in vitamins (A-, D-, E-, and B-complex), minerals (iron and selenium), or amino acids, leading to anemia and poor immunity；
- Precise feeding and gut microbiome manipulation in the early stages of life.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Chunyan Xie
Prof. Dr. Jing Wang
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- maternal programming
- weaning transition
- feed additives
- immune development
- antioxidant capacity
- nutrient digestibility
- suckling piglet nutrition
- precision nutrition
- antimicrobial agent
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