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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.
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The Efficiency of Energy Utilization by Growing Pigs Selected for Potential Growth Rate
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on May 23, 2012 | No Comments
Despite years of trying to breed out differences in pig herds there are still variations in pig characteristics. An Experiment was conducted to see if early growth rates had an impact on energy utilization later in a pigs life. This could help with matching diets closer to pigs specific needs. Sixty barrows were tracked through-out there time in the nursery and removed once they reached 30kgs. They were then put into one of three groups slow, average, or fast growing. From these groups pigs were put on one of two diets, high or low energy and also pigs were either fed ad libitum or 85% ad libitum. After the pigs were removed at 60kgs their carcasses were ground and they were examined. Fast growing pigs took 71 days to reach 30kgs, average pigs took 78 days and slow pigs took 98 days. Despite this the time to grow from 30 to 60kgs was not significantly different. A higher energy diet had no effect on growth rate but the higher energy diet produced less feed intake and therefore better feed efficiency. Pigs fed complete ad libitum had improved growth compared to the incomplete ad libitum. Energy utilization had no significant differences between fast, average and slow growing pigs. The efficiency of the utilization of dietary energy for growth was comparable among pigs selected for high or low potential growth rate. This implies that segregating pigs and feeding based on PGR is not a tool that will improve our ability to match feed to requirements.
Weaning Management
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on May 12, 2012 | No Comments
The last ten years have seen changes in weaning management, and an increase in weaning age and weight. The basic setup is important during weaning. The environment should be clean, dry, warm, and with proper height water drinkers before the piglets are moved in. Once the piglets are in the pen, the feeder should be opened to allow a small amount of food in, also mat feeding is useful to facilitate feeding. Observation is important part of weaning to make sure all piglets are drinking, and to encourage feed intake in those not developing feeding behaviour. Given the changing weights and age of weaning, this paper looked at the amino acid and alternate protein sources used in starter diets. In a three phase feeding system, reduced lysine caused no decrease in average daily gain, but feed efficiency was reduced. In phase three the average daily gain was reduced with a low lysine diet. This indicates there could be a cost savings by reducing lysine in the first two phases, but lysine should not be reduced in the third phase. Lastly, replacing fish meal in starter diets was tested. It was found crystalline amino acids or intestinal peptide protein can be substituted, and these alternative protein sources are unnecessary in phase 3 diets.
Liquid Co-Products: a Practical Overview
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on March 29, 2012 | No Comments
Using liquid co-products can provide feed cost savings, and with proper handling, storage, analysis, and delivery the full savings can be realized. Corn distillers solubles provide fat and crude protein, although amino acids will likely need to be supplied. Corn steep water has high crude protein and lactic acid, but will also need amino acid supplementation. Brewer’s yeast is another option with high protein, and liquid whey and whey permeate are two more co-products that can be used. Some of the potential co-products available include potato products, liquid wheat starch, sugar based liquids, and sauces. Optimal storage of ingredients should include agitation that reduces dead spots as much as possible, and two tanks per co-product to rotate out and to be cleaned between each batch. Inorganic and organic acids can be used to manage pH and keep ingredients like brewer’s yeast inactive. Liquid co-products should be added to feed when they are as fresh as possible. Proper analysis of ingredients will allow for specific formulation of diets, and the nutrient profile should be considered before purchase. The value of the feedstuff will also depend on the length the supply is expected to last, specific handling requirements, and the simulated growth performance on animals consuming the ingredient.
Feeding Alternative Feed Ingredients
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Alternative ingredients are ingredients that have not commonly been used due to availability, anti-nutritional factors, or costs. Evaluating these ingredients should be done by chemical analysis, digestibility studies, and feed trials. Before deciding to use an alternative ingredient the potential risk of reducing performance should be compared to the potential decrease in feed costs. The ingredient nutritional value should be considered by understanding and assessing the variation, understanding the impact it will have on dietary energy density and fibre content, considering any mycotoxin risks, and considering any complications with mixing and handling due to the ingredient’s physical characteristics. Formulating diets is a complicated process that needs to provide adequate nutrients to the pig, analyze the ingredients that are included, by palatable to the pig, be able to maintain pellet quality or feed flow, and maximize margin over feed facility cost. Finally, the source of the ingredient needs to be considered, as different processing methods can result in nutritional variation between sources. Overall, alternative ingredients have the potential to save feed costs, but nutrition, handling, availability, and formulation all need to be considered beforehand.
Taking the “Alternative” Out of Alternative Ingredients
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The introduction for Clarence Keen’s London Swine Conference, 2012 presentation on alternative feed ingredients.
Prediction Of Lysine Content And Availability In Corn DDGS Samples Based On Sample Color Measurements
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on January 25, 2012 | No Comments
Today many hog diets can consist of 20% distilled dried grain with solubles. DDGS, if mixed properly, can reduce feed costs while not impacting growth performance. Although, there still remains some variability in DDGS as lysine content comes in wide ranges. Color is one determinant of lysine content with dark colored grains having less lysine and light colored grains having more lysine.This study sets out to explore techniques and use of co-products color for predicting the nutritional value of DDGS for swine, particularly focusing on lysine. Samples were collected from ethanol plants in Ontario that provide DDGS. Samples were tested for, among other things, dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, lysine, fat, and each sample was given a color score from 1-100 (0=black, 100=white). The results showed that there was a considerable amount of variation in the nutrient profiles of the samples. The limited number of samples were able to be made into a model that can rapidly estimate lysine content and predicted and available amino acids. One observation made was that lysine did not move with protein content and other amino acids especially when the lighting score was low (below 45).
Weaning at 28 days- Is Creep Feeding Beneficial?
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on January 9, 2012 | No Comments
A study was conducted to see if piglets who were fed creep feed during the final 7 days of farrowing became more accustomed to dry feed, thus eating more in the days after being weaned and avoid growth lag. The study found that creep feeding had no significant effect on a piglets eating habits after being weaned. More research is being done to simulate a more commercial operation.
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.
Dietary omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratios affect plasma fatty acid profiles in sows
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on May 8, 2011 | No Comments
The abstract for an experiment testing omega-6:omega-3 (n6:n3), and the difference between plant or fish oil for a source of omega-3. The study found a 1:1 ratio to have the biggest effect. Although fish oil was more effective at increasing n3 fatty acids, plant oil also had an effect on the sows’ fatty acid profile.
Omega-3 pork: Meat quality challenges to a value added opportunity
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The abstract for a study looking at the addition of vitamin E to omega-3 rich pork products. Omega-3 can oxidize, which reduces the palatability of the product. The addition of vitamin E was not successful in increasing palatability in omega-3 rich pork products.