The objective was to evaluate the performance of starter pigs and growth fed with different types of essential oils from plants adapted to semiarid Northeast. A total of 40 pigs from commercial line Agroceres ®, (20 castrated males and 20 females) with average weight of 13.5 ± 3kg, distributed in a randomized block design with five treatments and four replicates, the treatments in the control diet and four diets containing diets 0.01% essential oils of fennel, quince, lemon grass and basil. The variables were: performance, incidence of diarrhea and microbiological perfil. No effect of addition of essential oils for the variables feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion and bacteria count for the animals in the initial stage, showing the influence of the addition of oil for feed intake, feed conversion during the growth phase I and phase feed intake in total. The essential oils of quince, lemon grass and basil had a positive effect on control of diarrhea. It was concluded that the essential oils of quince, lemon grass and basil, can be used as an antimicrobial agent to combat diarrhea of piglets without causing performance losses.
antimicrobial; diarrhea incidence; performance