Effects of standardized ileal digestible tryptophan:lysine in diets containing 30% dried distillers grains with solubles on finishing pig performance and carcass traits.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of standardized ileal digestible (SID) Trp:Lys in grow-finish swine diets containing 30% dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). Within each experiment, crystalline Lys and Trp replaced soybean meal to alter the dietary SID Trp:Lys concentration but maintain minimum ratios of other AA to Lys. In Exp. 1, 638 pigs (36.3 kg initial BW) were used in a 105-d trial (6 pens per treatment). Pens of pigs were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments with SID Trp:Lys of 14.0, 15.0, 16.5, and 18.0%. From d 0 to 42, as Trp:Lys increased, ADG increased (quadratic; P = 0.05) and ADFI tended to increase (quadratic; P = 0.07) with no changes in G:F. Both ADG and ADFI were maximized at Trp:Lys of 16.5%. From d 42 to 105, increasing SID Trp:Lys increased (linear; P < 0.001) ADG and ADFI. Unlike data from d 0 to 42, the response was linear through the greatest SID Trp:Lys of 18.0%. Overall (d 0 to 105), increasing SID Trp:Lys increased (linear; P < 0.001) final BW, ADG, ADFI, and HCW. In Exp. 2, 1,214 pigs (66.3 kg initial BW) were used in a 73-d finishing trial (9 pens per treatment). Pens of pigs were randomly allotted to 1 of 5 dietary treatments with SID Trp:Lys of 15.0, 16.5, 18.0, and 19.5 and the 15.0% Trp:Lys diet with l-Trp added to achieve 18.0% SID Trp:Lys. Overall (d 0 to 73), ADG, ADFI, G:F, and final BW improved (linear; P < 0.03) as dietary SID Trp:Lys increased through 19.5%. No differences were found in growth performance between the 2 diets containing 18.0% SID Trp:Lys. For carcass traits, increasing SID Trp:Lys resulted in increased HCW (linear; P = 0.01) and a tendency toward a decreased (quadratic; P = 0.09) backfat depth and fat-free lean index (FFLI), with pigs fed diets containing 16.5 and 18.0% SID Trp:Lys having increased FFLI and lower backfat depth compared with pigs fed 15.0 and 19.5% SID Trp:Lys. Pigs fed the diet with added crystalline Trp tended to have increased (P = 0.08) backfat depth and decreased FFLI (P = 0.10) compared with pigs fed the same SID Trp:Lys without crystalline Trp. The results indicated that the optimal SID Trp:Lys was 16.5% from 36.3 to 72.6 kg but at least 19.5% from 72.6 to 120.2 kg in corn-soybean meal diets containing 30% DDGS.

Effects of dietary wheat middlings, distillers dried grains with solubles, and choice white grease on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and carcass fat quality of finishing pigs.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of adding combinations of wheat middlings (midds), distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), and choice white grease (CWG) to growing-finishing pig diets on growth, carcass traits, and carcass fat quality. In Exp. 1, 288 pigs (average initial BW = 46.6 kg) were used in an 84-d experiment with pens of pigs randomly allotted to 1 of 4 treatments with 8 pigs per pen and 9 pens per treatment. Treatments included a corn-soybean meal-based control, the control with 30% DDGS, the DDGS diet with 10% midds, or the DDGS diet with 20% midds. Diets were fed in 4 phases and formulated to constant standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys:ME ratios within each phase. Overall (d 0 to 84), pigs fed diets containing increasing midds had decreased (linear, P ≤ 0.02) ADG and G:F, but ADFI was not affected. Feeding 30% DDGS did not influence growth. For carcass traits, increasing midds decreased (linear, P < 0.01) carcass yield and HCW but also decreased (quadratic, P = 0.02) backfat depth and increased (quadratic, P < 0.01) fat-free lean index (FFLI). Feeding 30% DDGS decreased (P = 0.03) carcass yield and backfat depth (P < 0.01) but increased FFLI (P = 0.02) and jowl fat iodine value (P < 0.01). In Exp. 2, 288 pigs (initial BW = 42.3 kg) were used in an 87-d experiment with pens of pigs randomly allotted to 1 of 6 dietary treatments with 8 pigs per pen and 6 pens per treatment. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial with 2 amounts of midds (0 or 20%) and 3 amounts of CWG (0, 2.5, or 5.0%). All diets contained 15% DDGS. Diets were fed in 4 phases and formulated to constant SID Lys:ME ratios in each phase. No CWG × midds interactions were observed. Overall (d 0 to 87), feeding 20% midds decreased (P < 0.01) ADG and G:F. Pigs increasing CWG had improved ADG (quadratic, P = 0.03) and G:F (linear, P < 0.01). Dietary midds or CWG did not affect ADFI. For carcass traits, feeding 20% midds decreased (P < 0.05) carcass yield, HCW, backfat depth, and loin depth but increased (P < 0.01) jowl fat iodine value. Pigs fed CWG had decreased (linear, P < 0.05) FFLI and increased (linear, P < 0.01) jowl fat iodine value. In conclusion, feeding midds reduced pig growth performance, carcass yield, and increased jowl fat iodine value. Although increasing diet energy with CWG can help mitigate negative effects on live performance, CWG did not eliminate negative impacts of midds on carcass yield, HCW, and jowl fat iodine value.