animals Article Inclusion of Oat and Yeast Culture in Sow Gestational and Lactational Diets Alters Immune and Antimicrobial Associated Proteins in Milk Barry Donovan 1, Aridany Suarez-Trujillo 2, Theresa Casey 2 , Uma K. Aryal 3 , Dawn Conklin 1, Leonard L. Williams 4 and Radiah C. Minor 1,* 1 Department of Animal Sciences, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +1-336-285-4787 Simple Summary: This study investigated the impact that supplementing sow’s gestation and lactation feed with oat alone or together with brewer’s yeast has on milk proteins and piglet growth and health. Oat and yeast supplements increased abundance of several milk proteins involved in immune protection. Piglets born from either the oat- or yeast-supplemented sows had decreased Citation: Donovan, B.; incidence of diarrhea after weaning. The average birth weights for piglets born of dams that Suarez-Trujillo, A.; Casey, T.; Aryal, consumed Oat were significantly greater than those that did not. However, piglets born to sows that U.K.; Conklin, D.; Williams, L.L.; consumed yeast in combination with oat weighed less at weaning and gained the least amount of Minor, R.C.