Adequate colostrum intake critical for newborn piglets

Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on October 1, 2011 | No Comments

A pilot study was done on 200 piglets to find out how colostrum intake effected piglets weaning weights, birth weight and survival to weaning. In a litter of pigs there can be massive differences in each piglets colostrum requirements. The study found that colostrum intake did not effect weaning weights or survival to weaning rates.

Lentils Shown to Be Good Protein Source for Weanling Pigs

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Swine Innovation by admin on September 26, 2011 | No Comments

On September 26th 2011, on farmscape.ca radio, Dr. Ruurd Zijlstra of the University of Alberta discussed the effects of lentils in diets:

Due to excess lentils after the 2010 harvest, tests were carried out by the University of Alberta to see the effectiveness of lentils in weanling pig diets. Results show that a diet with up to 20% lentils had no negative effect on pig performance. Researchers found that the pigs enjoyed eating lentils so there was no change in feed intake. Further testing found that pigs on a diet with 22.5% lentils had no change in average daily gain or feed efficiency, but when pigs were fed a diet that consisted of 30% lentils there was slight negative effects on average daily gain and feed efficiency. This led to belief that the appropriate percentage of lentils in a diet is around the low to mid twenties.

To listen to the interview click here: Lentils Shown to Be Good Protein Source for Weanling

A Literature Review on the Effects of Moisture Enhancement on Pork Quality

Posted in: Ontario Pork, Pork Insight Articles by admin on August 30, 2011 | No Comments

Most pork in North America undergoes some form of enhancement, either by adding extra moisture or the injection of a solution that contains sodium and phosphates before the meat is converted to roasts or chops. This process enhances meat juiciness and tenderness, although, increased sodium in processed products has recently come under scrutiny of health professionals and consumers, and grocery stores are looking into marketing non-enhanced pork. This puts more emphasis on pig nutrition as a way to enhance pork quality. A survey of pork consumers found that most preferred the texture and taste of enhanced pork, but would rather buy non-enhanced pork because of a preference for less processed food. Solutions can be added to pork to improve flavor, tenderness, juiciness, and overall consumer acceptability and pumping meat is a way to add weight which can improve retail margins. But the intake of to much sodium can lead to health risks such as high blood pressure and hyperphosphatemia and over processing meat can deter consumers as trends shift to more natural foods. Pork producers would benefit from being able to produce higher quality pork that is not dependent on enhancement to achieve consumer approval.

Effects of viscosity and fermentability of purified non-starch polysaccharides on ileal and total tract nutrient digestibility in ileal-cannulated grower pigs

Posted in: Production by admin on August 24, 2011 | No Comments

Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) reduce digestibility, but relative contributions of their functional properties viscosity (V) and fermentability (F) are not known. Thus, 8 ileal cannulated pigs were fed 4 diets based on cornstarch and casein and supplemented with purified NSP sources, either 5% low F, low V cellulose (CEL), low F, high V carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), high F, low V oat β-glucan (LG), or high F, high V oat β- glucan (HG) in a double 4×4 Latin square. Apparent ileal (AID) and total tract digestibility (ATTD) were calculated using TiO2 as indicator. The AID of energy, crude protein (CP) and dry matter (DM) was highest for high viscous CMC. The ATTD of energy and DM was highest for CMC and ATTD of CP did not differ among diets. The AID and ATTD of ash was only positive for CMC indicating secretion of minerals with other NSP. Post-ileal DM digestibility, an indicator of fermentation, was highest for CEL and HG. The relationship of AID of energy to post-ileal DM digestibility was stronger (R2=0.85) than the relation with digesta V (R2=0.45). In conclusion, negative effects of NSP on AID of energy and CP are explained better by increased fermentability than by increased digesta viscosity.

For more information the full article is available from http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Dietary purified oat β-glucan reduces peak glucose absorption and portal insulin release in portal-vein catheterized grower pigs

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Kinetics of glucose absorption may affect insulin secretion into the portal vein. The role of wet fractionated oat β-glucan on these variables is unknown; thus, three 35-kg pigs were fitted with catheters in the portal vein and carotid artery and a portal vein flow probe. Pigs were fed 3 diets containing 0, 3, or 6% purified β-glucan for 7-d in a repeated 3×3 Latin square. On d 7, blood was sampled for 12 h postprandially. Net glucose absorption rate was calculated from plasma portal-arterial differences×flow. Blood flow increased after feeding, without a diet effect. Postprandially, β-glucan reduced net glucose absorption during the first h by 22 to 51%. At 30 and 90 min postprandially, β-glucan decreased portal release of C-peptide but did not affect portal insulin at 30 min, indicating that β-glucan reduces peak insulin release while maintaining prehepatic insulin homeostasis. In conclusion, oat β-glucan as a soluble, viscous fibre decreases rate of glucose absorption and peak insulin release in portal vein.

For more information the full article is available from http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Effects of dietary protein/carbohydrate ratio on fat deposition and gene expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ and heart fatty acid-binding protein of finishing pigs

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The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary protein/carbohydrate (CH2O) ratio on fat deposition and expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and heart fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) genes in muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue in pigs. Twenty pigs (73.9±1.2 kg BW) were used in a single factorial experiment, and allocated by BW and ultrasound backfat thickness to the two treatments: lowprotein/CH2O ratio (LP; 11.2% CP and 68.2% CH2O for phase I, and 10.1% CP and 69.3% CH2O for phase II) diet, or high protein/CH2O ratio (HP; 22.7% CP and 58.3% CH2O) diet. Pigs were housed individually in pens, and had ad libitum access to feed and water. After 80-d feeding, 6 pigs from each treatment were selected and slaughtered. Dietary protein/CH2O ratio had no effect on growth performance; however, the intramuscular fat (IMF) in longissimus muscle (LM)was increased when the LP diet was fed. Correspondingly, Warner–Bratzler sheer force of LM in the LP pigs was lower than the HP pigs. The LP increased mRNA levels of PPARγ and H-FABP in LM but not in subcutaneous fat, although the difference of H-FABP gene expression in LM was not statistically significant. The mRNA abundance of PPARγ in muscle correlated positively with IMF content. The results indicated that an increase in IMF but not subcutaneous fat in pigs fed the LP diet is related to tissue-specific activation of PPARγ and H-FABP mRNA expression, especially the PPARγ gene.

For more information the full article is available from http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Dried chicory root has minor effects on the digestibility of nutrients and the composition of the microflora at the terminal ileum and in faeces of growing pigs

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The present investigation aimed to study digestibility of nutrient at the terminal ileum and the total tract, and the impact on microbial composition at the two sites. Four experimental diets based on wheat with increasing amounts of dried chicory root (0, 8.6, 17.2 or 25.8%) were formulated. The diets were fed to four pigs fitted with a T-canula at the terminal ileum according to a Latin square design. The digestibility of nutrients, except non-starch polysaccharides, was not affected by the experimental diets at the terminal ileum. The concentration of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and lactic acid in ileal digesta was unaltered. The digestibility of organic matter and energy in faeces was not affected by the amount of fructan in the diets but the digestibility of protein decreased with increasing content of fructan and surprisingly the digestibility of fat increased. The concentration of SCFA in faeces was unaffected by the dietary composition and it was only the molar proportion of the iso-acids that was influenced by diet. The proportion of iso-acids decreased with increasing amount of fructan in the diets. The composition of the microflora in ileal digesta and faeces was not influenced by the diets as shown by T-RFLP. In conclusion, diets containing high amount of fructan only induced minor changes in nutrient digestibility whereas no alterations of the composition of microflora could be detected. This indicates that growing pigs are well adapted for consumption of high amounts of fructan.

For more information the full article is available from http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Selective grazing of Lolium perenne and Plantago lanceolata by growing European wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) in a semi-extensive system

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In Chile, European wild boar are most commonly produced in a semi-extensive system with access to pastures for grazing. These pastures normally have a very heterogeneous botanical composition. The objective of the study was to determine whether grazing European wild boar select between the grass species L. perenne and the broadleaf species P. lanceolata. Four transects were marked in each of three areas of a pasture containing predominantly L. perenne cv.ArrowAR1 and P. Lanceolata cv. Tonic. A total of 15 tillers from L. perenne and 15 P. lanceolata plants were marked along each transect. Male pure-bred Europeanwild boar (n=18)with nose-rings and an average bodyweight of 11.2 kg (mean) grazed the areas during the evaluation days. For the marked tiller or plant, each leaf length was measured and the dry matter content estimated pre- and post grazing, with a difference between the measurements pre- and post-grazing demonstrating that grazing had occurred for that leaf. Each transect was evaluated daily for a total of three days. The study was carried out in Summer and repeated in Autumn. The probability of being grazed was significantly greater for the marked P. lanceolata plants than for the L. perenne tillers in both Summer and Autumn. The quantity of dry matter consumed from each grazed plant was also notably greater for P. lanceolata plants than for the L. perenne tillers in both Summer and Autumn. A strong positive relationship was found between leaf length and its probability of being grazed. These results show that wild boar do actively select the species of plant to be grazed, with a marked preference for P. lanceolata over L. perenne.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Effect of different quality wheat dried distiller’s grain solubles (DDGS) in pig diets on composition of excreta and methane production from faeces and slurry

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This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the incorporation in pig diets of 25% of ten different wheat dried distiller’s grain solubles (DDGS) from biofuel production, on (i) the excretion of organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N) and carbon (C), and (ii) on the potential of methane (CH4) emission from effluents (faeces and slurry). Eleven experimental diets were formulated: a control diet mainly based on cereals and soybean meal, and ten experimental diets obtained by adding to the control diet 25% of one of the ten samples of DDGS. The DDGS differed by their origin and the process of biofuel production. They were classified according to a colour score used as an indicator of processing conditions. The ultimate methane potential of effluents (B0, expressed in L CH4/kg OM) was measured for each diet in anaerobic storage conditions over 100 days. The addition of DDGS to pig diets increased the amount of faeces excreted by 27 to 50% and the amount of slurry excreted by 7 to 50%, compared to the control diet. The OM excretions in faeces and in slurry were significantly increased by 59% and 75% respectively, with wheat DDGS inclusion, compared to the control diet. As for total N and C excretory patterns, the addition of wheat DDGS increased their excretions by 65% and 54%, respectively, compared to the control diet. The results indicated that the partitioning of N was shifted from urine to faeces with the inclusion of fibre from wheat DDGS. B0 values measured on faeces and slurry were respectively in a range from202 to 294 and from278 to 368 L CH4/kgOM. On average, B0 values were lower for the effluents from the DDGS diets compared to the effluent from the control diet. The type of DDGS also affected the B0, with lower values obtained for dark compared to medium or light DDGS. When methane emission was expressed per pig and per day, potential productions for slurry and faeces from the control diet were 51 and 68 L/day, respectively. On average, the values were significantly higher, by about 40%, for slurry and faeces from DDGS diets, with 72 and 98 L/day, respectively. It was concluded that the heating process of DDGS may reduce the methane production potential of their indigestible OM. However, because of the increased OM excretion, incorporating DDGS in pig diets increases the potential methane production per pig produced.

To view this complete artricle please visit: http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Chemical composition and standardised ileal digestibilities of crude protein and amino acids in grain legumes for growing pigs

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The study was conducted to determine chemical composition and standardised ileal digestibilities (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) in currently available grain legume cultivars for growing pigs. Three consecutive experiments were conducted with six barrows each, fitted with simple ileal T-cannulas. In total, 18 assay diets including six different cultivars of faba beans (Vicia faba) and peas (Pisum sativum), respectively, five different cultivars of lupins (Lupinus luteus, Lupinus angustifolius) and one assay diet with a commercial soybean meal (SBM, 490 g kg−1 CP as-fed) were fed according to a row-column-design. The assay feed ingredients were added to a corn starch casein-based basal diet at the expense of corn starch. Each diet was formulated to supply approximately 50% of CP and AA from the assay feed ingredient and casein, respectively. Furthermore, the basal ileal endogenous losses and SID of CP and AA in casein were estimated by regression analysis from apparent ileal digestible and total dietary contents of CP and AA. The SID of CP and AA in the grain legumes were determined in difference to SID of CP and AA originating from casein, after correcting the apparent ileal digestibilities (AID) of CP and AA in the assay diets for basal ileal endogenous CP and AA losses. The average SID of CP in faba bean cultivars (76%) and pea cultivars (79%) were lower compared to lupin cultivars (87%) and SBM (87%) (Pb0.05). The SID of all AA in faba bean cultivars were lower compared to lupin cultivars and SBM (Pb0.05). Digestibility values measured in the present study provide further information to accurately formulate diets for pigs based on standardised ileal digestible contents of CP and AA in currently available grain legumes for growing pigs.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci