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Industry Partners
Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Prebiotic Feed Additives: Rationale and Use in Pigs
Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2005 | No Comments
Disease has always been a critical issue in pig production. It affects not only animal health and well-being, but also the physical and economic health of the producer. Growth promotant antibiotics have been fed to livestock since the 1940’s and have generally enhanced pig performance. The gut is full of “symbiotic” microbes, which means that they work with the pig to benefit each other. In the case of the pigs most of these microbes protect against harmful pathogens via competition for nutrients, production of toxic conditions, competition for attachment sites on intestine, or stimulation of the immune system. Prebiotics are defined as “A non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon.” Prebiotic compounds act by enriching beneficial bacterial populations to influence the defensive capability of the animal by altering immune function, intestinal structure, microbial populations, intestinal pH, fatty acid concentrations, mineral absorption and disease resistance. Some prebiotic studies have shown to improve growth performance, decrease variation, decrease morbidity and mortality, and decrease medicinal costs.
Calcium, phosphorus, and amino acid digestibility in low-phytate corn, normal corn, and soybean meal by growing pigs
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Nine growing barrows were equipped with a T-cannula in the distal ileum and used to determine apparent ileal (AID) and apparent total-tract digestibility (ATTD) coefficients of Ca and P in low-phytate corn, normal corn, soybean meal, and in diets where soybean meal was mixed with low-phytate corn or normal corn. The AID and the standardized ileal digestibility coefficients (SID) of CP and AA also were determined. The animals (initial BW = 29.3 ± 1 kg)
were allotted to a 9 × 9 Latin square with nine diets and nine periods. Three diets contained low-phytate corn, normal corn, and soybean meal as their sole source of CP, AA, Ca, and P, respectively. Three additional diets were identical to these diets except that limestone and monosodium phosphate were added. Two diets contained low-phytate corn or normal corn and soybean meal, limestone, and monosodium phosphate, and the final diet was a N-free diet. The AID and ATTD of Ca were higher (P < 0.05) for low-phytate corn than for normal corn (70.0 and 69.1% vs. 47.4 and 49.6%, respectively). The AID and ATTD for Ca in soybean meal (50.9 and 46.7%, respectively) did not differ from values for normal corn but were lower (P < 0.05) than for lowphytate corn. The AID and ATTD for P from low-phytate corn (56.5 and 54.5%, respectively) were greater (P < 0.05) than from normal corn (28.3 and 28.8%, respectively),
whereas soybean meal had intermediate AID and ATTD for P (37.2 and 38.0%, respectively). The AID and ATTD of P increased (P < 0.05) when monosodium phosphate was added to normal corn (44.9 and 49.8%, respectively) and soybean meal (49.6 and 46.2%, respectively), but adding monosodium phosphate to low-phytate corn, did not alter either AID
(49.7%) or ATTD (50.7%) of P. No differences between AID and ATTD for Ca or P within the same diet were observed. The AID of Arg, Asp, Gly, Ile, Lys, Phe, Thr, and Val were greater (P < 0.05) in low-phytate corn than in normal corn. The AID of all AA in soybean meal were greater (P < 0.05) than in both types of corn, with the exception of Ala, Cys, Leu, and Met. The SID of Lys, Phe, and Thr were higher (P < 0.05) in low-phytate corn than in normal corn. Because low-phytate corn has a higher digestibility of Ca and P, less inorganic Ca and P need to be supplemented to diets containing low-phytate corn than to those containing normal corn, and P excretion may be decreased when low-phytate
corn is used in the diet.
Simulated consequences of different housing and management strategies for growing pigs on productivity and the indoor area required
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The effects of production system, sorting strategy, group size, and feeding intensity on growth performance and weight distribution were used to assess the indoor area requirement. The required indoor area was generally decreased by the number of transfers, sorting the pigs by weight at an early stage compared to later, non-sorting the pigs compared to sorting by sex, or restricted intake of feed for a limited period.
New ideas about gilt development and management
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Replacement gilts are important in any herd because they determine the future productivity of the herd. Today the visual selection criteria used may not be the best indicator of reproductive potential. The aim of this paper is to introduce some relatively new management techniques for gilt development. It is important to maintain health during ovarian development at the piglet stage. In piglets that exhibit diarrhea, age at puberty is unaffected for the most part, but the proportion of gilts exhibiting puberty, farrowing rates, and number of pigs born alive are consistently lower. At the nursery stage, growth of specialized glands from uterine tissue must be maximized. First off, sows must not be exposed to estrogen-containing mycotoxins in feed. This results in poor embryonic survival of the replacement gilts coming from that sow. Replacement gilts cannot be crowded or there will be detrimental effects on weight of ovulation and born alives.
The first lactation is widely agreed as the most important time of a gilts reproductive life. The number and size of piglets nursing have a direct effect on the amount of milk produced, and the amount of milk produced is directly related to the weaning weight. Analysis can be done on a per farm basis to determine the amount of piglets the average gilt can rear without experiencing a reduction in subsequent breeding performance.
If gilts fail to reach a timely first estrus, work should be done to ensure that future gilts experience minimal environmental stresses, minimal competition with pen mates, and minimize lactation stress by reducing the number of nursing pigs.
Panel Presentation: The Financial Perspective Opportunities in Contract Finishing
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Contract finishing in Canada and the US has been growing in popularity for the past decade Hytek in Manitoba contracts finishing barns in Iowa and Minnesota. The advantage to a farrowing facility contracting a finisher is the savings in facility costs, which operation of these facilities accounts for 20% of costs. Contract C is the most common purchased because it includes the facilities, labour, utilities, maintenance, taxes, insurance, and manure removal. The contractor of the barn must provide adequate facilities (biosecurity, design, etc.), environmental compliance, maintain financial records, have a good location, a good contract and fee, be a low cost operator, give a proposed term, and have a high reputation. In addition to all of that, the contractee must be able to provide quality pigs that can grow to genetic potential.
Micro-Organisms as Feed Additives – Probiotics
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For many decades antibiotics have been used as feed additives in various species of farm animals to reduce the frequency of diarrhoea under certain conditions. It can also improve body weight gain or feed conversion ratio. These antibiotics modify the intestinal bacteria and their interaction with the host animal. Public concern has risen over the potential increase of bacterial antibiotic resistance. Some alternatives to antibiotics include probiotics, prebiotics, organic acids and herbs, as well as essential oils. Probiotics are commonly defined as viable microbes that lead to beneficial effects for the host by modifying the intestinal microbial population. It must survive throughout processing, pelleting, storage, and stomach. Some research trials have shown that alternative growth promoters can enhance animal performance. 80% of experiments show that piglets fed probiotics see a reduction in piglet diarrhoea.
You can feed fusarium-contaminated barley to pigs
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While the full extent of the fusarium problem in the 2005 Manitoba cereal grain crops has yet to be determined, preliminary reports highlight the potential for significant infection rates. For pig producers, this could mean another season of coping with DON. The mycotoxin DON (deoxynivalenol or vomitoxin), when present in swine diets above 1 to 2 ppm, can suppress feed intake and lead to reductions in average daily gain and increase days to market. At the University of Manitoba.s Department of Animal Science, we have been conducting research to A) better understand how fusarium contaminated cereal grains impact swine performance and B) develop strategies to reduce the negative impacts observed when feeding these grains. With respect to point B, the attention have been focused on the use of pearling techniques, or abrasive dehulling, to remove DON (and other mycotoxins) from the grain. Our initial studies with a laboratory-scale pearling machine showed that pearling was quite effective at removing DON from hulled barley: The removal of 15% of the outer kernel, approximately equal to the hull fraction, resulted in the removal of 65% of the DON. Similar results were obtained when we tested a commercial-scale pearling unit. The commercial-scale unit provided an opportunity to assess the impact of pearling on the feeding value of fusarium-contaminated hulled barley. We showed that pearling 1) removed the feed refusal factor from contaminated barley and 2) increased the digestible energy value of barley by an average of 15%, due to the removal of the fibrous hull fraction. The next phase in our studies included the investigation of whether DON-contaminated barley, once it had been pearled, could serve as a suitable feed ingredient for starter pigs. The effect of commercial pearling of DON-contaminated barley diets was evaluated with respect to the performance of early-weaned pigs. Three sources of barley were used, each with a different level of initial DON contamination: Barley 1 = 1.2 ppm (low); Barley 2 = 4.4 ppm (medium); and Barley 3 = 7.6 ppm (high). Each barley source was subjected to a commercial pearling procedure, using a Satake cereal grain abrader, to remove approximately 20% of the outer portion of the grain. As a result, the final DON levels in the pearled barley samples were: Barley 1 = 0.42 ppm; Barley 2 = 1.54 ppm; Barley 3 = 2.70 ppm. These barley samples were used in the formulation of two phase diets for starter pigs. Phase I diets contained 44% pearled barley, 25% soybean meal (48% crude protein), 15% dried whey, 10% lactose, 6% spray dried plasma, 1.8% vegetable oil, plus supplemental lysine, methionine, and a vitamin-mineral premix to provide sufficient nutrients to meet or exceed the requirements of the young pig. The phase II diets consisted of 67% pearled barley, 27% soybean meal, 1.5% vegetable oil, plus supplemental lysine, methionine, and a vitamin-mineral premix to provide sufficient nutrients to meet or exceed the requirements of the young pig. As a control, corn-based diets were formulated to the same nutrient specifications for the two phases. Based on these results, we conclude that the commercial pearling of DON-contaminated, hulled barley yields a feed ingredient that is well tolerated by young pigs. The removal of the mycotoxins, in particular DON, as well as the fibrous hull fraction creates a feed ingredient that supports average daily gains and feed efficiency values that are similar, if not better, than a corn-based control. Therefore, the pearling or dehulling of barley should be considered as an effective strategy to increase the utilization of fusarium-contaminated grains by the swine industry. Pearling requires capital inputs (pearling machine, grain handling and storage), as well as the input of energy. However, the costs associated with pearling should be offset by the reduction in transportation costs associated with the importation of DON-free grains, as well as the improvement in the digestible energy value that is obtained through the removal of the fibrous hull fraction (ie: less added oil required in the diets). Further work to optimize the process, as well as the determination of the cost-effectiveness of the procedure will indicate the economic conditions when this process is viable at the commercial level.