The pig gut microbiome profoundly influences health, immunity, and welfare, with management practices shaping microbiome composition.
Gut microbiome health is a welfare determinant that is invisible but profoundly important. Disrupted microbiomes following antibiotic treatment cause immune compromise and disease susceptibility that extends welfare costs beyond the original treatment period. Management that supports microbiome health - dietary fibre, probiotics, reduced antibiotic use - improves welfare at the physiological level.