The aim of this study was compare the potential of an antibiotic and homeopathic complex on the prevention and treatment of diarrhea in suckling piglets and to compare and evaluate the performance results and mortality during the lactation. Ninety eight litters, totaling 988 piglets, from females with reproductive cycles order of 5.92 ± 2.65. The litters were allotted to a randomized block experiment consisting of the control, antibiotic and homeopathic complex treatments. It was adopted the reproductive cycle order of the females as blocking criteria. On the second day of life, litters were weighed and submitted to oral application of 2.0mL colistin antibiotic or 4.0mL of homeopathic complex per piglet. The piglets were weaned at an average age of 22.97 ± 2.43 days. No effect of treatments on performance and mortality of piglets was noted. Difference was found in the percentage of efficiency in the treatment of diarrhea, and the homeopathic complex showed superior efficiency in relation to the antibiotic (95.2% versus 90.0%). It was concluded that the homeopathic complex was effective in the prevention and treatment of diarrhea of suckling piglets and may be used as a substitute to the antibiotic.
antibiotics; enteritis; homeopathy; swines