Amino acid digestibility and energy content of deoiled (solvent-extracted) corn distillers dried grains with solubles for swine and effects on growth performance and carcass characteristics.

A study with 3 experiments was conducted to determine the AA digestibility and energy concentration of deoiled (solvent-extracted) corn distillers dried grains with solubles (dDGS) and to evaluate its effect on nursery pig growth performance, finishing pig growth performance, and carcass traits. In Exp. 1, a total of 5 growing barrows (initial BW = 30.8 kg) were fitted with a T-cannula in the distal ileum and allotted to 1 of 2 treatments: 1) a diet with dDGS as the sole protein source, or 2) a N-free diet for determining basal endogenous AA losses in a crossover design at 68.0 kg of BW. Apparent and standardized (SID) ileal digestibility of AA and energy concentration of dDGS were determined. In Exp. 2, a total of 210 pigs (initial BW = 9.9 kg) were used in a 28-d experiment to evaluate the effect of dDGS on nursery pig performance. Pigs were allotted to 5 dietary treatments (0, 5, 10, 20, or 30% dDGS) formulated to contain equal ME (increased added fat with increasing dDGS) and SID Lys concentrations based on the values obtained from Exp. 1. In Exp. 3, a total of 1,215 pigs (initial BW = 29.6 kg) were used in a 99-d experiment to determine the effect of dDGS on growth and carcass characteristics of finishing pigs. Pigs were allotted to dietary treatments similar to those used in Exp. 2 and were fed in 4 phases. The analyzed chemical composition of dDGS in Exp. 1 was 35.6% CP, 5.29% ash, 4.6% fat, 18.4% ADF, and 39.5% NDF on a DM basis. Apparent ileal digestibility values of Lys, Met, and Thr in dDGS were 47.2, 79.4, and 64.1%, respectively, and SID values were 50.4, 80.4, and 68.9%, respectively. The determined GE and DE and the calculated ME and NE values of dDGS were 5,098, 3,100, 2,858, and 2,045 kcal/kg of DM, respectively. In Exp. 2, nursery pig ADG, ADFI, and G:F were similar among treatments. In Exp. 3, increasing dDGS reduced (linear; P < 0.01) ADG and ADFI but tended to improve (linear; P = 0.07) G:F. Carcass weight and yield were reduced (linear; P < 0.01), loin depth tended to decrease (linear; P = 0.09), and carcass fat iodine values increased (linear; P < 0.01) as dDGS increased. No difference was observed in backfat, percentage of lean, or fat-free lean index among treatments. In conclusion, dDGS had greater CP and AA but less energy content than traditional distillers dried grains with solubles. In addition, when dietary fat was added to diets to offset the reduced ME content, feeding up to 30% dDGS did not affect the growth performance of nursery pigs but did negatively affect the ADG, ADFI, and carcass fat quality of finishing pigs.

Amino acid digestibility and energy concentration of high-protein corn dried distillers grains and high-protein sorghum dried distillers grains with solubles for swine.

A study was conducted to determine the AA digestibility and energy concentration of a specialized high-protein corn distillers dried grains (HPC-DDG) product and a high-protein sorghum dried distillers grains with solubles (HPS-DDGS) product. Six growing barrows (BW = 22.7 kg) were surgically fitted with T-cannulas at the terminal ileum and allotted randomly to 3 treatments in a crossover design with 3 periods. The treatment diets were 1) 67% HPC-DDG and 2) 50% HPS-DDGS as the sole protein sources, and 3) an N-free diet for determining basal endogenous AA loss. All diets contained 0.25% chromic oxide as an inert marker. Digesta and fecal samples were collected and analyzed for AA and energy concentrations. After chemical analysis, standardized and apparent ileal digestible (SID and AID, respectively) AA and GE were determined for each coproduct. The DE, ME, and NE values for HPC-DDG and HPS-DDGS also were calculated. The chemical composition of HPC-DDG and HPS-DDGS on a DM basis was 40.8% CP, 5.4% fat, 22.9% ADF, 36.6% NDF, 0.04% Ca, and 0.42% P and 48.2% CP, 3.1% fat, 17.5% ADF, 20.4% NDF, 0.13% Ca, and 0.82% P, respectively. The DM content of HPC-DDG and HPS-DDGS was 89.50 and 91.88%, respectively. Analyzed AA content of HPC-DDG was greater than that of traditional corn DDGS. The Lys content of HPC-DDG was 1.36% (DM basis), resulting in a Lys-to-CP ratio of 3.2%. In HPS-DDGS, most AA were present in greater proportions than in HPC-DDG or conventional sorghum DDGS. The HPS-DDGS Lys content was 1.7% (DM basis), equivalent to a Lys-to-CP ratio of 3.5%. In HPC-DDG, the AID for Lys, Met, Thr, and Trp were 65.9 ± 1.7, 87.0 ± 1.9, 72.8 ± 3.4, and 76.2% ± 3.5, respectively, and SID values were 67.8 ± 1.7, 87.5 ± 1.9, 75.0 ± 3.5, and 78.6 ± 3.7%, respectively. For HPS-DDGS, the AID for Lys, Met, Thr, and Trp were 51.9 ± 5.3, 73.0 ± 3.1, 60.6 ± 5.3, and 71.7 ± 3.4%, respectively, and SID values were 53.7 ± 4.9, 73.8 ± 3.0, 63.0 ± 4.9, and 73.8 ± 3.0%, respectively. The GE, DE, and calculated ME and NE values were 5,293, 3,703 ± 121, 3,426 ± 121, and 2,131 ± 88 kcal/kg of DM, respectively, for HPC-DDG and 5,108, 3,878, 3,549, and 2,256 kcal/kg of DM, respectively, for HPS-DDGS. Results indicate that both coproducts are well suited for use in swine diets and that actual AA digestibility values and calculated energy concentrations can now be used in swine diet formulation.

Effects of lactation feed intake and creep feeding on sow and piglet performance.

A total of 84 sows (PIC Line 1050) were blocked according to day of farrowing and parity and allotted in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with lactation feed intake (ad libitum vs. restricted) and creep feeding (no vs. yes) as factors. Sows fed for ad libitum intake (ad libitum-fed) were allowed free access to a common lactation diet (3,503 kcal of ME/kg, 0.97% standardized ileal digestible Lys), and sows with restricted intake (restricted-fed) were fed 25% less than ad libitum-fed sows. A creep diet (3,495 ME/kg, 1.56% standardized ileal digestible Lys) with 1.0% chromic oxide was offered to creep-fed pigs from d 3 to 21. Fecal samples from creep-fed pigs were taken with sterile swabs on d 7, 14, and 21, and color was assessed to categorize pigs as eaters or non-eaters. There were no interactions (P > 0.15) between lactation feed intake and creep feeding. Ad libitum-fed sows had greater (P < 0.01) total feed intake and ADFI (99.4, 4.9 kg) than restricted-fed sows (67.9, 3.6 kg). Ad libitum-fed sows had reduced BW loss (-15 vs. -24 kg; P < 0.01), improved total (46.7 vs. 43.0 kg; P < 0.04) and daily (2.56 vs. 2.36 kg; P < 0.04) BW gains of litters, and increased (90 vs. 71%; P < 0.03) percentage of sows returning to estrus by d 14 compared with restricted-fed sows. Creep feeding for 18 d did not affect (P > 0.34) sow BW and backfat loss but increased days to estrus (5.4 vs. 4.9 d; P < 0.03). Creep feeding had no (P > 0.16) effect on preweaning growth performance. Postweaning performance of creep-fed and non-creep-fed pigs was similar (P > 0.86). When individual pigs were categorized on the basis of creep feed consumption category, eaters had greater (P < 0.05) ADG (393, 376, and 378 g) and total BW gains (11.0, 10.5, and 10.6 kg) than non-eaters or non-creep-fed pigs. In conclusion, creep feeding for 18 d did not affect preweaning and lactating sow performance. Low feed intake during lactation negatively affected sow and litter performance. Creating more creep-feed eaters during the lactation period may benefit postweaning performance. Therefore, dietary and nondietary factors that can enhance the proportion of eaters in litters should be investigated.