Abstract: To evaluate the possibility of substituting in feed antibiotics with fermented Chinese herb residues (CHR) as feed additive,120 piglets weaned at 21 days of age were randomly assigned into 4 treatment groups,representing control group,CHR group,fermented CHR group and antibiotic group.The effects of CHR and fermented CHR on growth performance,diarrhea rate,digestibility and intestinal mucosal morphology were determined.The results showed that the F/G in fermented CHR group was lower compared with the control and CHR groups in each experimental stage;diarrhea rate in fermented CHR group was not different compared with the control and CHR groups;the digestibility in fermented CHR group was higher than other three groups;the jejunum V/C in fermented CHR group was minimum,and villi width was maximum.These findings suggested that the fermented CHR can improve the growth performance and nutrient digestibility of weaned piglets in a certain extent,but there were no significant effects on diarrhea rate and intestinal morphology.

Key words: Chinese herb residues, fermentation, weaned piglets, growth performance, intestine