Effect of high canola meal content on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and fecal bacteria in nursery pigs fed either corn or wheat based diets

Dietary inclusion of high-amylose cornstarch increased Lactobacillus and Terrisporobacter and decreased Streptococcus in the cecal digesta of weanling pigs

The study investigated the effect of dietary inclusion of high-amylose cornstarch (HA-starch) on cecal microbiota composition and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations in weanling pigs fed high levels of cold-pressed canola-cake (CPCC). Weaned pigs (240 mixed sex; 7.1 ± 1.2 kg) were housed in 40 pens (6 pigs/pen) and fed a common commercial diet for 7 d, followed by the experimental diets for 28-d, which contained either 0% or 40% CPCC with either 0% or 40% HA-starch. At the end of the study, one pig from each pen (n = 8) was selected and euthanized to collect cecal digesta for microbial and VFA composition analyses. The HA-starch increased (P < 0.001) acetate, propionate, and butyrate concentrations, thereby increasing total VFA concentration (P < 0.001). There was a tendency for cecal butyrate and total VFA concentrations to decrease when pigs were fed the 40% CPCC diet without HA-starch but increase when fed the 40% CPCC diet containing 40% HA-starch (CPCC × HA-starch effect; P = 0.09), indicating HA-starch can increase cecal butyrate and total VFA concentrations in pigs fed a diet with high-CPCC level. The proportions of Lactobacillus and Terrisporobacter were high, whereas low proportions of Streptococcus genus were observed in the cecal microbiota of pigs fed diets containing 40% HA-starch. Also, pathways consistent with carbohydrate digestion, absorption, and phosphate metabolism were enriched in pigs when the diet included 40% HA-starch. In summary, incorporating high amounts of HA-starch in a weanling pig diet containing high levels of CPCC may benefit intestinal health and digestive performance by enhancing the abundance of probiotic commensal bacteria, contributing to increased enzymatic activity and carbohydrate metabolism.

Nutritional guide to feeding wheat and wheat co-products to swine: a review

Inclusion of wheat grain can offer feeding opportunities in swine diets because of its high starch, crude protein (CP), amino acid (AA), and phosphorus (P) content. High concentrations of starch within wheat grain makes it a good energy source for swine. Mean energy content of wheat was 4,900 and 3,785 kcal/kg dry matter (DM) for digestible energy and metabolizable energy, respectively. CP concentration can vary based on the class of wheat which include hard red winter, hard red spring, soft red winter, hard white, soft white, and durum. The average CP of all wheat data collected in this review was 12.6% with a range of 8.5% to 17.6%. The AA concentration of wheat increases with increasing CP with the mean Lys content of 0.38% with a standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of 76.8%. As CP of wheat increases, the SID of AA in wheat also increases. Mean P of wheat was 0.27% and median P was 0.30%. Off-quality wheat is often associated with sprouts, low-test weight, or mycotoxin-contamination. Sprouted and low-test weight wheat are physical abnormalities associated with decreased starch within wheat kernel that leads to reductions in energy. The assumed energy value of wheat grain may need to be reduced by up to 10% when the proportion of sprouted to non-sprouted wheat is up to 40% whereas above 40%, wheat's energy may need to be reduced by 15% to 20%. Low-test weight wheat appears to not influence pig performance unless it falls below 644 kg/m3 and then energy value should be decreased by 5% compared to normal wheat. Deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination is most common with wheat grain. When content is above the guidance level of 1 mg/kg of DON in the complete diet, each 1 mg/kg increase in a DON-contaminated wheat-based diet will result in a 11% and 6% reduction in ADG and ADFI for nursery pigs, and a 2.7% and 2.6% reduction in ADG and ADFI, in finishing pigs, respectively. Wheat co-products are produced from the flour milling industry. Wheat co-products include wheat bran middlings, millrun, shorts, and red dog. Wheat co-products can be used in swine diets, but application may change because of differences in the final diet energy concentration due to changes in the starch and fiber levels of each wheat co-product. However, feeding wheat co-products are being evaluated to improve digestive health. Overall, wheat and wheat co-products can be fed in all stages of production if energy and other nutrient characteristics are considered.

Effects of cereal and protein source on performance, apparent ileal protein digestibility and intestinal characteristics in weaner piglets

Rye and rapeseed meal (RSM) are alternatives to wheat and soybean meal (SBM) in pig nutrition. The inclusion of rye and RSM instead of wheat and SBM may increase dietary fibre content in the feed, which may affect digestive physiology and intestinal function. However, research on the combined feeding of rye and RSM in piglets is still scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of rye and RSM containing feed on growth performance, protein and amino acid digestibility, physical characteristics of the digesta and the intestinal morphology in weaner piglets. A total of 88 piglets aged 28 d were randomly allotted to four different feeding groups at weaning: wheat/SBM, wheat/RSM, rye/SBM, rye/RSM. Cereals were included at 48%, SBM at 25% and RSM at 30%. Body weight gain and feed intake were recorded weekly. After 33 d, piglets were euthanised for assessment of digesta and intestinal morphology. Rye did not affect performance, whilst RSM resulted in reduced weight gain (p = 0.024) and feed intake (p = 0.037). Apparent ileal digestibility of crude protein and amino acids was decreased by rye and RSM (p < 0.05). Rye caused an acidification (p = 0.045) and increased viscosity (p = 0.013) of small intestinal digesta, a lower dry matter content of jejunal and colonic digesta (p < 0.05) and an increased relative weight of the colon tissue (p < 0.001). In conclusion, performance was not reduced when rye was used as an alternative to wheat in diets for weaner piglets. The inclusion of RSM instead of SBM to piglets' diet lowered animal performance under our conditions. Further investigations are warranted to characterise the quality of rapeseed meal and the optimum inclusion level in the diet for young pigs.