Villus height and crypt depth in weaned and unweaned pigs, reared under various circumstances in The Netherlands

The height of the villi and depth of the crypts in the small intestine were studied after weaning in pigs reared under various circumstances in the Netherlands. Pigs taken from herds with a long history of postweaning diarrhoea had in general significantly shorter villi and deeper crypts than their counterparts from a specific pathogen-free herd. Weaning was associated with villus shortening, crypt deepening and subsequent villus lengthening in pigs from the specific pathogen-free herd. Giving supplementary feed during the sucking period was beneficial in preventing shortening of the villi and this villus shortening was less severe when the crypts were deep at weaning, a condition that perhaps lessens the severity of postweaning diarrhoea.