Swine Feed Efficiency: Decision Tree

Break F/G into the two factors: Feed disappearance and ADG and investigate whether the poor F/G is associated with high feed disappearance, low ADG, or both

The effects of the carbohydrate and protein fractions of milk products on starter pig performance

Call number: LD2668 .T4 ASI 1988 T64Master of ScienceAnimal Sciences and Industr

Effects of supplementing organic microminerals and methionine with or without limiting growth during the rearing phase of replacement gilts on lameness, growth, and body composition

Previous research suggested that lameness in growing pigs could be reduced using feeding strategies, such as limiting growth rate and supplementing trace minerals (TM) and (or) methionine (Met). The present study evaluates effects of 1) TM and Met and 2) limiting total lysine (Lys) during the rearing phase (90 d) of gilts (as a means to limit growth rate) on lameness, performance, and sow claw health and productivity (to first parity). Gilts (n = 240; 58.0 ± 11.1 kg body weight [BW]) were blocked, distributed into pens of 10 gilts, and pens were allocated to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Factors were: 1) control or TM plus Met, which provided additional 10, 20, and 50 mg/kg of chelated copper, manganese, and zinc, respectively (0.1%, Aplomotec Plus, Tecnología & Vitaminas, S.L.; Alforja, Spain), and a 1.01 Met:Lys ratio and 2) standard Lys was formulated to meet growth requirements or low Lys to 19% below growth requirements. Feeding was provided through two phases, first between 119 and 163 d of age (phase I) and the second between 163 and 209 d of age (phase II). Diets had 2.43 and 2.31 Mcal net energy/kg for phases I and II, respectively, and were offered ad libitum. Low Lys did not affect feed intake but rather reduced average daily gain (ADG) by 6.35% and the final BW by 3.80% compared with standard Lys (P 0.05) whether gilts displayed lameness or not. Lameness was low in severity and not affected by dietary factors. However, TM- plus Met-fed gilts were 19.2 kg heavier (P = 0.016) than were control at lameness detection. On the sow farm, there was no evidence for differences in lameness or claw lesions among previous dietary treatments. In conclusion, lameness prevalence during the rearing phase was similar, independent of TM plus Met supplement, low Lys, or the interaction. Insufficient reduction of ADG and low severity in lameness may have limited the potential of dietary treatments. Moreover, a greater deficiency of Lys would be needed to achieve the degree of growth reduction previously reported to lessen lameness through feed restriction

Effects of additional organic micro-minerals and methionine on carcass composition, gait score, bone characteristics, and osteochondrosis in replacement gilts of different growth rate

Osteochondrosis (OC) is a multifactorial defective endochondral ossification that causes lameness and early culling in gilts and sows. Previous research suggested that nutrition and growth rate could influence OC development and progression. As part of a broader study [n = 360 gilts; 28.8 ± 8.8 kg body weight (BW)] designed to evaluate the effect of 4 dietary treatments: 1) basal diet (CON); 2) CON plus organic micro-minerals (MIN, copper, manganese and zinc at 10, 20 and 50 mg/kg, respectively); 3) additional methionine (MET, at 102% methionine:lysine); and, 4) the organic micro-minerals plus the additional methionine (MM), on lameness and performance, a sub-sample of 40 heavy replacement gilts (10 gilts/treatment, 171.5 ± 8.1 kg of BW) was used. Within treatment, gilts were classified for final average daily gain (ADG) as low (LG, 838 ± 36.3 g/day; n = 20) or high (HG, 922 ± 31.1 g/day; n = 20). Dietary treatment and growth classification were the fixed effects to evaluate gait, OC, tibia bending measures, metacarpal mineralization; and using computerized tomography, the carcass composition, bone size, and whole bone density (WBD). The WBD was expressed as volume of Hounsfield values (HU), where higher values indicate increased density. A porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus outbreak occurred during this trial. It differentially affected MM gilt performance and consequently may have influenced the results for this treatment. Gilts fed MIN diet had 0.75 cm larger tibia than CON (P  140 HU compared to CON and MET (P  1000 HU) was also increased in MIN and MET compared with CON (P 1000 HU), and MM dietary treatment reduced OC lesion score compared with CON.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Effects of Increasing Soybean Meal in Diets Based on Corn and Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Late Finishing Pigs

A total of 1,827 pigs (L337 × 1050, PIC; initially 215.8 ± 2.5 lb) were used to evaluate the effects of increasing soybean meal (SBM) in corn-DDGS-based diets on growth performance of late finishing pigs. Pens were blocked by BW and randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary treatments with 14 replications per treatment. Experimental diets were corn-based with 25% DDGS. Soybean meal levels increased from 0 to 16% in 4% increments replacing added feed grade AA. Pens of pigs were weighed to evaluate ADG, ADFI, and F/G. Data were analyzed with the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS and pen was considered as the experimental unit. The statistical model considered fixed effects of dietary treatment, linear and quadratic contrasts, and random effects of group and block. Overall, final BW of pigs marginally increased (quadratic; P \u3c 0.10) as SBM increased, with the greatest improvement observed when diets contained 8% SBM. However, there were no differences among treatments in overall ADG, ADFI, or F/G. Furthermore, there was no influence of increasing SBM on carcass characteristics. These results suggest that increasing SBM concentrations in diets that contain 25% DDGS did not influence growth performance of late finishing pigs

Effects of Increasing Soybean Meal in Corn-Based Diets on Growth Performance of Late Finishing Pigs

A total of 1,793 pigs (L337 × 1050, PIC, Hendersonville, TN; initially 231.2 ± 2.4 lb) were used to evaluate the effects of increasing soybean meal in corn-based diets on growth performance of late finishing pigs. Pens of pigs were blocked by initial weight and randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary treatments with 22 to 27 pigs per pen and 12 to 14 pens per treatment. Experimental diets were corn-based, formulated to 0.70% SID Lys, and contained varying amounts of feed grade AA to meet or exceed requirement estimates. Soybean meal gradually increased from 5 to 20% of the diet and replaced feed grade AA. Thus, experimental diets contained 9.6, 10.8, 12.0, 13.4, or 14.7% CP. Pigs were weighed to evaluate ADG, ADFI, and F/G. Data were analyzed with the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS using pen as the experimental unit. The statistical model considered fixed effects of treatment, linear, quadratic, and cubic contrasts, and random effects of group and block. Overall, pigs fed increasing soybean concentrations in the late finishing period exhibited increased ADG (linear and cubic, P \u3c 0.05), and improved F/G (linear and cubic, P \u3c 0.05). The greatest improvements were observed as dietary soybean meal increased from 5 to 8.75% and from 16.25 to 20%. Additionally, final BW of pigs increased (cubic, P \u3c 0.05) as SBM increased from 5 to 8.75% and from 16.25 to 20%. Although diets were formulated to exceed the minimum NRC (2012) nutrient requirement estimates, we suspect the observed response may be due to the increased Trp:Lys ratio of 21.6 in the 20% SBM diet compared to 20% in all other diets. These results suggest that at least 8.75% soybean meal should be utilized to increase dietary CP content beyond 11% to improve growth performance of late finishing pigs in corn-based diets

Effects of different diet alternatives to replace the use of pharmacological levels of zinc on growth performance and fecal dry matter of weanling pigs

A total of 300 weanling pigs (Line 400 × 200, DNA, Columbus, NE, initially 4.83 kg) were used in a 46-d trial to evaluate the effects of different nutritional strategies to replace pharmacological levels of Zn, provided by zinc oxide (ZnO), in nursery diets on growth performance and fecal dry matter (DM). Six treatments with 10 replicate pens per treatment and 5 pigs per pen were used. Diets consisted of: (1) positive control (ZnO providing 3,000 mg/kg added Zn from d 0 to 7 and 2,000 mg/kg added Zn from d 8 to 25 and 21% crude protein, CP); (2) negative control (NC; no added ZnO); (3) NC plus 1.2% Na diformate; (4) NC with 4% coarse ground wheat bran; (5) NC but formulated to 18% CP; and (6) the combination of NC with 18% CP, 1.2% Na diformate, and 4% coarse ground wheat bran. The diets formulated to 18% CP contained 1.2% standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys from d 0 to 25, whereas the 21% CP diets contained 1.4% SID Lys from d 0 to 7 and 1.35% SID Lys from d 7 to 25. From d 25 to 46, all pigs were fed a common diet. From d 0 to 7, no differences in any variables were observed between treatments. From d 7 to 25, pigs fed the diet with added ZnO had greater (P < 0.01) average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) than all other treatments. Pigs fed the diet formulated to 18% CP had decreased (P < 0.01) ADG when compared with pigs fed the other diets. From d 25 to 46, no previous treatment effects on ADG or gain to feed ratio (G:F) were observed. Overall (d 0 to 46), pigs fed the diet with added ZnO from d 0 to 25 had greater (P < 0.01) ADG, ADFI, and final body weight than pigs fed added Na Diformate, or 4% coarse ground wheat bran, or with the 18% CP diet, or with pigs fed the combination of the additives intermediate. There was no evidence for differences in overall G:F. Pigs fed the NC diet had the lowest fecal DM and highest fecal scores (P < 0.05), indicating the greatest incidence of loose stools. Pigs fed added ZnO had greater fecal DM than pigs fed the NC, 4% added wheat bran, or 18% CP diets, or with pigs fed the combination of additives intermediate (P < 0.01). These results suggest that adding pharmacological levels of Zn from ZnO improves nursery pig performance and increases DM content of feces when compared with pigs fed diets with either Na diformate, 4% course wheat bran, or 18% CP alone. However, a combination of all three alternatives appeared to be additive and partially restored growth performance similar to adding pharmacological levels of Zn

Effects of Added Potassium to Diets with High or and Low Crystalline Lysine on Finishing Pig Growth Performance

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of balancing dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) levels, via added potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), to diets containing low or high levels of L-Lys HCL on growth performance of growing-finishing pigs. A total of 1,944 pigs (PIC L337 × 1050; initially 77.6 ± 1.88 lb BW) were used in a 120-d study to determine the effect of added potassium bicarbonate to diets containing low or high levels of crystalline lysine on growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing pigs. Pens of pigs were blocked by BW and randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of KHCO3 (0 vs. 0.4%), and L-Lys HCl level (low vs. high). There were 27 pigs per pen and 18 replicates per treatment and a similar number of barrows and gilts placed in each pen. Treatment diets were corn-soybean meal-based and formulated in four dietary phases (approximately 80 to 130 lb, 130 to 185 lb, 185 to 230 lb, and 230 to 285 lb). Dietary treatments were formulated such that in each phase the diet containing a low level of L-Lys HCl without KHCO3 and the diet containing a high level of L-Lys HCl with KHCO3, had similar calculated DCAD values. Additionally, the diet with a low level of L-Lys HCl with KHCO3 was formulated to have the highest DCAD in each phase, while the diet with a high level of L-Lys HCl without KHCO3 was formulated to have the lowest DCAD. Overall, there was no evidence (P \u3e 0.10) for a KHCO3 × L-Lys HCl interaction or main effect for final BW or any observed growth response or carcass characteristics. The results of this study suggest that supplementing KHCO3 to finishing pig diets with either high or low levels of L-Lys HCl and the corresponding changes in DCAD values did not impact growth performance or carcass characteristics

Effects of Added Calcium Carbonate on Weanling Pig Growth Performance

A total of 695 barrows (DNA Line 200 × 400; initially 12.9 lb) were used in two groups in a 28-d study to evaluate the effects of added dietary calcium carbonate on phase 1 nursery pig growth performance and fecal dry matter. Upon arrival to the nursery research facility, pigs were randomly assigned to pens (5 pigs per pen) and pens were allotted to 1 of 5 dietary treatments with 27 or 28 pens per treatment. Dietary treatments were formulated to provide 0, 0.45, 0.90, 1.35, and 1.80% calcium carbonate added at the expense of corn. Analyzed Ca for treatment diets were 0.61, 0.80, 0.99, 1.15, and 1.37%, respectively. Standardized total tract P concentration was formulated to 0.58% in all diets. Diets were fed in two phases with treatment diets fed from weaning (d 0) to d 14 and a common phase 2 diet fed from d 14 to 28. Treatment diets were fed in both meal (group 1) and pellet (group 2) form. There was no evidence for treatment × group interaction observed, so data from both groups were combined. From d 0 to 14 (treatment period), ADG, d 14 BW, and F/G worsened (linear, P = 0.010) as calcium carbonate increased. There was no evidence for difference for ADFI (P \u3e 0.10). From d 14 to 28 (common period) and for the overall experiment (d 0 to 28), there was no evidence (P \u3e 0.10) for differences observed for any growth performance criteria. For fecal dry matter, there was a tendency (quadratic, P = 0.091) with the highest and lowest calcium carbonate diets having the highest dry matter. In summary, increasing dietary calcium carbonate from 0 to 1.80% decreases ADG and worsens feed efficiency in phase 1 nursery diets. Despite the linear response, the largest decrease was observed when calcium carbonate increased from 0.45 to 0.90% with no difference in performance thereafter. These data suggest that lower levels of calcium carbonate can be used than are typically added to phase 1 diets

Effects of Folic Acid and Zinc Oxide on Nursery Pig Growth Performance

A total of 360 barrows (DNA 600 × 241; initially 12.1 ± 0.07 lb) were used in a 38-d growth study to evaluate the effects of including folic acid (Rovimix Folic Acid, DSM, Parsippany, NJ) with or without pharmacological levels of Zn provided by zinc oxide (ZnO) on growth performance and fecal characteristics in nursery pigs. Pigs were weaned at approximately 19 d of age and randomly allotted to 1 of 6 dietary treatments. A total of 72 pens were used with 5 pigs per pen and 12 replications per treatment. Dietary treatments were arranged in a 3 × 2 factorial with main effects of folic acid (0, 20, or 40 ppm) and ZnO (3,000 ppm of Zn in phase 1, 2,000 ppm in phase 2, or no Zn other than 110 ppm from the trace mineral premix). Diets were corn-soybean meal-based and fed in 2 phases. A common phase 3 diet was fed to all pigs. For the experimental period (d 0 to 24), pigs fed diets with pharmacological levels of Zn had improved (P £ 0.030) d 24 BW, ADG, and ADFI. There was a quadratic (P \u3c 0.05) response for d 24 BW, ADG, and ADFI when pigs were fed folic acid with pigs fed 0 or 40 ppm having improved performance compared with pigs fed 20 ppm. For the common period (d 24 to 38), pigs previously fed pharmacological levels of Zn had poorer (P = 0.028) feed efficiency compared to pigs previously fed diets without pharmacological Zn. Additionally, a quadratic (P = 0.008) response was observed in ADG and ADFI when pigs were previously fed folic acid with pigs fed 0 or 40 ppm having improved performance compared with pigs fed 20 ppm. Overall (d 0 to 38), there was a quadratic (P \u3c 0.05) response in final BW, ADG, and ADFI when pigs were fed folic acid, with pigs fed 0 or 40 ppm having improved performance compared to pigs fed 20 ppm. However, no overall differences (P \u3e 0.10) were observed when pigs were fed diets with or without pharmacological levels of Zn in phase 1 and 2 diets. Additionally, no statistical differences (P \u3e 0.10) in mortality were observed when pigs were fed diets with or without pharmacological levels of Zn although pigs fed no folic acid had numerically the lowest mortality. In conclusion, the addition of folic acid did not improve nursery pig performance with a negative response observed at 20 ppm, regardless of Zn inclusion in the diet