Animal Nutrition & Health
Stress can affect more than pig behavior. Social and environmental stressors may contribute to aggression and tail biting, potentially leading to lesions, welfare challenges and impacts on productive performance.
MaxiFicient™ Shield is a precision microbiome solution designed to help pigs cope with stress by influencing the gut microbiome and its role in gut-brain communication.
By supporting specific microbial activities and metabolite production, MaxiFicient™ Shield helps support biological pathways associated with stress responses and behavior — creating the conditions for more resilient pigs and consistent productive performance.
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Pigs encounter a range of stressors throughout the production cycle, from social interactions and environmental changes to handling and management practices.
While stress is a natural response, prolonged or elevated stress can influence behavior and contribute to unwanted interactions such as aggression and tail biting. These behaviors can result in lesions and welfare concerns and may ultimately affect production outcomes.
The gut and brain are closely connected through the gut-brain axis, with the microbiome playing an important role in this communication.
MaxiFicient™ Shield works through the gut microbiome to support microbial activity and the production of metabolites involved in gut-brain signaling. By influencing these interconnected pathways, it helps support a more balanced response to stress and behavioral challenges.
By supporting the gut-brain connection, MaxiFicient™ Shield can contribute to calmer behavior, animal welfare and productive performance as part of a broader swine management strategy.
MaxiFicient™ Shield is a free-flowing powder designed for direct incorporation into feed, making it easy to include in existing feeding programs.
Pigs encounter different challenges as they move through each stage of production. Changes in environment, diet, social groups and management can all influence their response to stress.
MaxiFicient™ Shield works by influencing the gut microbial environment. Its substrate supports specific microorganisms and helps shape their activity and metabolite production.
These microbial metabolites can participate in gut-brain communication and signaling pathways associated with behavioral responses to stress.
1. Supporting the gut microbiome
MaxiFicient™ Shield provides a substrate that supports selected microorganisms, helping influence microbial activity within the gut.
2. Supporting microbial metabolite production
The resulting microbial activity supports the production of specific metabolites involved in gut-brain communication and signaling.
3. Supporting stress resilience and behavior
Together, these processes help support biological mechanisms involved in the stress response and behavioral regulation.
MaxiFicient™ Shield is a precision microbiome solution for pigs. It works through the gut microbiome to influence microbial activity and the production of metabolites involved in gut-brain communication and behavioral regulation.
MaxiFicient™ Shield works through the gut microbiome rather than acting directly on behavior. By supporting specific microbial activities and metabolite production, it helps support biological pathways involved in the physiological response to stress and behavioral regulation.
Supporting study data showed reduced tail biting, together with a lower incidence and severity of aggression and fewer tail and skin lesions in supplemented pigs.
MaxiFicient™ Shield can be used throughout the production cycle, with particular relevance during periods when pigs may experience increased social, environmental or management-related stress. Use from the nursery phase can provide early support for the gut microbiome.
MaxiFicient™ Shield is supplied as a free-flowing powder for direct incorporation into feed. For application instructions and recommended inclusion levels, download the product information.
Supporting study data showed higher average daily gain and final body weight in supplemented pigs, while feed conversion ratio remained comparable with the control group.
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