With the tremendous growth of the ethanol industry, more and more by-products – namely,\u00a0distiller’s grains and thin stillage (DDGS) are available for livestock rations. The nutritional\u00a0value of dried wheat distiller’s grain for grower-finisher pigs was prior to start of the project\u00a0unknown, especially the value of wheat DDGS produced in western Canada.<\/p>\n
The main objectives for a series of experiment were to: a) characterize the nutritional value\u00a0of wheat-based DDGS, b) to determine the impact on nutrient excretion, c) optimize feed\u00a0strategies, and 4) to detect impact on carcass quality. Therefore, to study this feedstuff, the\u00a0project was initiated with a digestibility experiment with cannulated grower-finisher pigs fed one\u00a0wheat control diet and 3 dried distiller’s grain diets (corn, corn and wheat, and wheat distiller’s\u00a0grain). Ingredient, feed, faeces, and digesta samples were collected and were analyzed to\u00a0determine DE, digestible amino acid, and digestible phosphorus content for the three DDGS\u00a0samples. This first project indicated in total that wheat DDGS can be used as a feedstuff for\u00a0swine, but has a lower nutritional value than the parent wheat. However, feeding of wheat\u00a0DDGS, in particular poor quality wheat DDGS might reduce voluntary feed intake. Feeding of\u00a0wheat DDGS will increase N excretion, and may reduce P excretion, due to high P digestibility\u00a0due to degradation of phytate. As such feed wheat DDGS to nursery and grower-finisher pigs\u00a0may have to be limited to 10 to 20%, for poor quality wheat DDGS, whereas wheat DDGS might\u00a0be fed up to 30% in finisher pigs, if a good or excellent quality. If proper diet formulation is\u00a0used (NE and SID AA content), impact on carcass quality is limited but dressing percentage will\u00a0be reduced by 1 to 2% due to a higher weight of the gastro-intestinal tract due to the additional\u00a0fibre in the diet.. In a series of follow-up experiments, supplemental enzymes were studied to\u00a0alleviate the reduced nutrient digestibility and voluntary feed intake; however, supplemental\u00a0enzymes proved less effective than expected. In collaborative project, effects of feed processing\u00a0especially extrusion technology have been studied. In conclusion, wheat-based DDGS can be\u00a0added to feedstuffs databases for feed formulation for swine.<\/p>\n