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Abstract
In this study, experiment 1 examined the growth characteristics of pigs fed different levels of organic Zn coupled with CuSO4 compared to those fed treatments containing inorganic Zn from ZnO and CuSO4. Experiment 2 determined the digestibility of copper and zinc in nursery pigs fed diets containing 4 or 100 ppm Cu as CuSO4 and 60 ppm Zn from ZnO or 75 ppm Zn as organic zinc. Data from experiment 1 indicated that pigs fed 75 ppm of organic Zn have performance similar to those fed 100 ppm ZnO and that the addition of 100 ppm organic Zn resulted in decreased performance compared to those pigs fed 100 ppm ZnO. Experiment 2 saw the benefit of 100 ppm added Cu on ADG and ADF compared to 4 ppm Cu yet, no differences in 60 ppm inorganic Zn and 75 ppm organic Zn on growth characteristics were observed. 75 ppm organic Zn increased intake 21% over 60 ppm inorganic Zn. 100 ppm Cu increased Ca and Cu intake, however 4 ppm Cu increased retention by 45%.