Determination of the apparent and true ileal amino acid digestibility and digestible and metabolizable energy of specialty protein sources intended for nursery pig diets

Two experiments were conducted to determine the apparent and true-ileal amino acid digestibility, and to determine the digestible energy and metabolizable energy values of rice protein concentrate, salmon protein hydrolysate, whey protein concentrate, and spray-dried animal plasma. The experimental ingredients were analyzed for essential and non-essential amino acids and crude protein so diets could be formulated. In Exp.1, pigs were fed each diet, and ileal digesta was collected and analyzed. Apparent and true digestibilities were then calculated. In Exp. 2, pigs were fed each diet and feces were collected, weighed, and sampled. Lab analyses were conducted for the determination of gross energy (GE) and digestible energy (DE). Then ME values were determined by calculation from the DE and CP concentrations of experimental diets. In Exp. 1, TID lysine, methionine, and threonine values were 86.6, 69.0, and 78.9% for rice protein concentrate; 89.7, 88.7, and 80.2% for salmon protein hydrolysate; 95.7, 93.9, and 88.4% for whey protein concentrate; and 95.4, 93.5, and 92.2% for spray-dried animal plasma, respectively. In Exp. 2, DE values for rice protein concentrate, salmon protein hydrolysate, whey protein concentrate, and spray-dried animal plasma were 2143, 1893, 2245, and 2062 kcal/lb, respectively. The ME values that were determined for the protein products were 1917, 1598, 1974, and 1805 kcal/lb, respectively

Effects of increasing amounts of true ileal digestible lysine on the growth performance of growing-finishing pigs reared in a commercial facility

Two 28-d experiments using 2,259 gilts were conducted to determine the growth and economic effects of increasing dietary true ileal digestible (TID) lysine in commercially reared growing-finishing pigs. Both experiments included 6 dietary treatments of incrementally increasing TID lysine in diets containing 6% added fat. The dietary TID lysine ranged from below to above our current requirement estimates to determine if there were any changes in lysine requirements during the past five years. In Exp. 1, pigs were initially 132 lb and averaged 192 lb at the end of the 28-day study. The TID lysine rates were 0.65, 0.75, 0.85, 0.95, 1.05, and 1.15%, which corresponded to lysine:calorie ratios of 1.80, 2.08, 2.35, 2.63, 2.91, and 3.19 g/Mcal, respectively. Increasing TID lysine increased ADG (linear, P<0.01) and improved F/G (quadratic, P<0.06), with optimal performance at 1.05% TID lysine (TID lysine:ME ratio of 2.91 g/Mcal). Pigs fed this diet consumed approximately 22 g of TID lysine per day, and used 21.6 g of TID lysine/kg of gain. Although not significant, margin over feed cost (MOF) was numerically greatest for pigs fed 1.05% TID. In Exp. 2, pigs were initially 177 lb and averaged 241 lb at the end of the 28-d study. The TID lysine rates were 0.52, 0.62, 0.72, 0.82, 0.92, and 1.02%, which corresponded to lysine:calorie ratios of 1.44, 1.71, 1.99, 2.27, 2.55, and 2.83 g/Mcal, respectively. In Exp. 2, the optimal TID lysine rate changed over the course of the experiment. During the first 14 d, pigs fed 0.92% TID lysine had the greatest ADG and lowest F/G, whereas pigs fed 0.72% TID lysine had the numerically highest ADG and lowest F/G from d 14 to 28. Pigs fed these diets required approximately 19.5 g of TID lysine/kg gain. Margin over feed costs increased (quadratic, P<0.03) with increasing dietary TID lysine, with the greatest return at 0.72% TID lysine. In summary, results of the first experiment suggest an increase in dietary TID lysine recommendations, compared with our earlier studies. Even though the optimal lysine rate may be changing over time for this genetic line and production facility, it seems that using the estimate of approximately 20 g TID lysine per kg of gain will provide a good estimate of the pig’s lysine requirement

Effects of added synthetic amino acids, with decreasing amounts of fat, on growth performance of growing pigs

Swine research, 2005 is known as Swine day, 2005A total of 1,210 growing gilts (initially 102.4 lb, PIC) were used in a 28-day study in a commercial research facility to determine the effects of added synthetic amino acids, with decreasing amounts of fat, on growth performance of growing pigs. Pigs were fed one of four experimental diets based on cornsoybean meal: 1) control (3% added fat, no synthetic amino acids), 2) 2.38% added fat and high concentrations of synthetic amino acids; 3) 1.90% added fat and high concentrations of synthetic amino acids, and 4) 1.43% added fat and high concentrations of synthetic amino acids. The amounts of added fat were chosen to equalize the energy content of the diet, according to a modified ME basis, with the ME value of soybean meal being set at 95, 90, and 85% of the ME of corn in Treatments 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Overall (d 0 to 28), pigs fed diets containing high concentrations of synthetic amino acids tended to have decreased ADG (P<0.09) and poorer F/G (P<0.11) than those of pigs fed the control diet. Linear and quadratic trends for ADG, ADFI, and F/G, with decreasing amounts of added fat, were not significant. The results of this study indicate that decreasing the amount of added fat when high concentrations of synthetic amino acids are added to the diet causes a numerically reduced ADG and poorer F/G

Influence of nutridense low phytate corn and added fat on growing-finishing pig growth performance

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of NutriDense Low Phytate corn in conjunction with increasing amounts of added fat on growing and finishing pig performance. NutriDense Low Phytate corn is similar to NutriDense corn, but with greater available phosphorus content because it has less phytate phosphorus. Both experiments were conducted at a commercial swine research facility in southwest Minnesota. In Exp. 1, 1,162 gilts (initially 98.3 lb) were used in a 28-d study. Pigs were blocked by weight, and were randomly allotted to one of six dietary treatments. Pigs were fed diets based on corn-soybean meal with yellow dent (YD) or NutriDense Low Phytate corn and 0, 3, or 6% added fat, in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. A constant true ileal digestible (TID) lysine:energy ratio of 2.80 g TID lysine:Mcal ME was maintained in all diets, as well a constant available P:energy ratio of 0.90 g/Mcal. Overall (d 0 to 28), there were no corn source × fat content interactions (P>0.79). Regardless of corn source, ADG and F/G improved linearly (P<0.03, and P<0.01, respectively) as the amount of fat increased in the diet. There were no differences in growth performance between pigs fed diets containing NutriDense Low Phytate and those fed YD corn. In Exp. 2, a total of 1,128 gilts (initially 180.0 lb) were used in a 28-d growth assay. Pigs were blocked, and were randomly allotted to one of six dietary treatments. Pigs were fed similarly to those in Exp. 1, with diets based on corn-soybean meal, using either NutriDense Low Phytate or YD corn and 0, 3, or 6% added fat. A constant TID lysine:energy ratio of 2.15 g/Mcal ME was maintained in all diets, as well as a constant available P:energy ratio of 0.75 g/Mcal. Overall (d 0 to 28), there was a tendency for a corn source × fat content interaction for F/G (P<0.07), which was a result of pigs fed YD corn having improved F/G only at 6% added fat, whereas improvements were seen in pigs fed NutriDense Low Phytate at both 3 and 6% added fat. Also, there was an improvement in ADG (linear P<0.01) and F/G (linear, P<0.01) as the amount of fat increased in the diet, regardless of corn source. There was no difference in growth performance between pigs fed diets containing NutriDense Low Phytate and those fed YD corn. These studies indicate that increasing amounts of added fat improved growth performance, regardless of corn source. Pig growth performance is similar for pigs fed NutriDense Low Phytate corn and fed YD corn, although NutriDense Low Phytate corn does have the advantage of having higher amino acid concentrations and less phytate phosphorus

Effects of water-based citric acid on growth performance and water disappearance of weanling pigs

Swine research, 2005 is known as Swine day, 2005A total of 399 weanling pigs (initially 12.2 lb and 14 ± 3 d of age, PIC) were used to determine the effects of water-based citric acid on nursery pig growth performance and water disappearance. Pigs were given a common diet and one of two experimental water treatments: 1) negative control, water containing no additives; and 2) water containing 0.55 g per L citric acid. Overall (d 0 to 10 after weaning), there were no differences in growth performance between pigs provided water or water with added citric acid. In addition, water disappearance was similar between treatments for the overall period. These results suggest that adding 0.55 g/L of citric acid improves neither pig growth or water intake when offered immediately after weaning

Effects of dried distillers grain with solubles on growing-finishing pig performance

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of increasing dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS) on growth performance and palatability in growing-finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, a total of 1,050 pigs (initially 104.9 lb) were used in a 28-d study in May 2002. Pigs were fed diets with either 0 or 15% DDGS and 0, 3, or 6% added fat, for a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. Overall, there were no DDGS × fat content interactions (P = 0.20). There was an improvement (linear, P<0.01) in ADG and F/G with increasing added fat and no difference in growth performance between pigs fed 0 or 15% DDGS. In Exp. 2, a total of 1,038 pigs (initially 102.1 lb) were used in a 56-d study in August 2005. Pigs were fed diets with either 0, 10, 20, or 30% DDGS from the same ethanol plant as in Exp. 1. Overall (d 0 to 56), there was a trend for decreased ADG (linear, P<0.10) and ADFI (linear, P<0.06) as DDGS increased. The greatest reduction occurred in pigs fed more than 10% DDGS. In Exp. 3, a total of 120 growing pigs (initially 48.7 lb) were used in a 21-d feed preference study in October 2005. Pigs were randomly allotted to a pen with 4 feeders, each containing a separate dietary treatment. Pigs were offered diets based on corn-soybean meal, with 0, 10, 20, or 30% DDGS from the same source as in Exp. 1 and 2. For all periods (d 0 to 7, 7 to 21, and 0 to 21), there was a decrease in ADFI (quadratic, P<0.01) as DDGS increased in the diet. The most dramatic decrease was observed between 0 and 10% DDGS. Experiment 1 showed no difference in growth performance in pigs fed 0 or 15% DDGS. In Exp 2, at DDGS contents higher than 10%, there were trends for decreased ADG and ADFI; in Exp. 3, ADFI decreased with increasing DDGS in the diet. In summary, DDGS from the ethanol plant tested can be used at 10 to 15% in finishing diets without reducing pig performance. Higher percentages of DDGS in the diet decreased ADFI in growing and finishing pigs

Effect of whey protein concentrate source on growth performance of nursery pigs

A total of 228 weanling pigs (initially 14.7 lb and 21 ± 3 d of age, PIC L210 × L42) were used to evaluate the effects of whey protein concentrate (WPC) source on growth performance of weanling pigs. Pigs were fed one of seven experimental diets: a negative control, with no WPC (control); a positive control, with 5% spray-dried animal plasma (SDAP); or the negative control diet with one of five WPC sources (Sources 1 through 5). Pigs were fed the experimental diets from d 0 to 14 after weaning, then all pigs were fed a common Phase 2 diet from d 14 to 28 after weaning. From d 0 to 14, pigs fed diets containing WPC from Source 1 had greater ADG (P<0.05) than did pigs fed the control diet or WPC from Source 3. Pigs fed SDAP also had greater ADG and ADFI (P<0.05) than did pigs fed WPC from Source 3. Pigs fed WPC tended to have poorer ADFI (P<0.09) than that of pigs fed SDAP. All pigs fed WPC diets had improved F/G (P<0.01), however, compared with pigs fed the control. Overall (d 0 to 28), pigs fed WPC from Source 1 had greater ADG (P<0.05) than did pigs fed WPC from Source 3, but there were no treatment differences in ADFI and F/G. In summary, variation in growth performance with pigs fed WPC confirms our previous results in that variation between sources does exist. Furthermore, pigs fed diets containing high-quality WPC, from a reliable and consistent source, can improve ADG and have similar performance to pigs fed spray-dried animal plasma

Effects of dietary calcium formate and malic acid on nursery pig growth performance

A total of 180 weanling pigs (initially 14.1 lb and 18 ± 3 d of age, PIC) were used to determine the effects of dietary calcium formate or malic acid on nursery pig growth performance. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial, with or without an antimicrobial, and with or without calcium formate or malic acid, for a total of six dietary treatments: 1) negative control (no organic acids or antimicrobials); 2) positive control (feed containing 140 g/ton neomycin sulfate, 140 g/ton oxytetracycline; neo/oxy); 3) negative control feed containing malic acid; 4) positive control feed containing malic acid; 5) negative control feed containing calcium formate; 6) positive control feed containing calcium formate. There were no interactions (P>0.10) between the antimicrobial and the organic acids. Overall, pigs fed diets containing neo/oxy had greater ADG and ADFI (P<0.04) than did pigs fed diets without an antimicrobial. There were no differences in growth performance between pigs fed the control diet and pigs fed diets containing organic acids. These data suggest that neo/oxy increases ADG and ADFI of weanling pigs. Neither malic acid nor calcium formate are suitable replacements for neo/oxy for growth performance in nursery pigs

Effects of increasing meat and bone meal on finishing-pig growth performance

A total of 156 finishing pigs (72 barrows and 84 gilts, initially 110 lb) were used to determine the effects on growth performance of increasing meat and bone meal. Pigs were housed in an environmentally regulated finishing building, with two pigs per pen. There were six pens of barrows and seven pens of gilts per treatment. Pigs were blocked by initial weight and sex, and then allotted to one of six dietary treatments. The dietary treatments were based on corn-soybean meal, were formulated on a true-ileal-digestible (TID) lysine basis, and were fed in three phases. In each phase, diets contained 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, or 12.5% porcine meat and bone meal. The diets were formulated to 0.85, 0.70, and 0.57% TID lysine in phases 1, 2, and 3, respectively, slightly less than the pig’s anticipated requirements, so that if the amino acid digestibility of meat and bone meal was different than typical values, changes in growth performance could be observed. Increasing meat and bone meal increased ADG (quadratic, P<0.02), decreased ADFI (linear, P<0.02), and improved F/G (quadratic, P<0.01). Pigs fed 2.5 or 5.0% meat and bone meal had the best ADG and F/G; as meat and bone meal increased to higher concentrations, however, ADG and F/G decreased and were similar to those of pigs fed the control diet. Because the diets were formulated with slightly less than the pig’s anticipated requirements, the results suggest that the meat and bone meal used was relatively high quality and contained greater digestible amino acids than expected. These results suggest that porcine meat and bone meal is a suitable replacement for soybean meal

The effects of different feed-grade antibiotics on growth performance of weanling pigs in a research environment

A total of 168 weanling pigs (initially 13.8 lb and 21 ± 3 d of age, PIC) were used to determine the effects of different feed-grade antibiotics on nursery-pig performance. Pigs were fed one of four experimental diets: control with no antibiotics; or the control diet with added Denagard/CTC (35 g/ton Denagard™, 400 g/ton Chlortetracycline); Neo-Terramycin® (140 g/ton Neomycin Sulfate, 140 g/ton Oxytetracycline HCl); or Mecadox® (Carbadox, 50 g/ton). Overall (d 0 to 28 after weaning), pigs fed diets containing Denagard/ CTC or Neo-Terramycin® had greater ADG and ADFI (P<0.05) than did pigs fed all other diets, and had improved F/G (P<0.05), compared with that of pigs fed the control diet. Also, pigs fed diets containing Mecadox® had improved ADG and F/G (P<0.05) compared with those of pigs fed the control diet. The addition of feed-grade antibiotics in swine diets resulted in improved growth performance, and pigs fed Denagard/CTC or Neo-Terramycin® had the greatest improvement in growth performance