Evaluation of Extruded Rice as a Replacement for Dried Whey in Weanling Pigs

Abstract Text: Rice is one of the most important food crops worldwide for human consumption. Extruded rice, byproduct obtained after processing of rice, is a rich source of carbohydrate. It has been reported to protect young pigs against diarrhea, increase nutrient digestibility, and improve average daily gain. A total of 120 weaning pigs [(Landrace ﾡ￁ Yorkshire) ﾡ￁ Duroc, 21 day of age] with an average initial body weight of 6.52 ﾡ￀ 0.22 kg were selected to investigate the effects of extruded rice product as a replacement to dried whey on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles, fecal shedding of Lactobacillus and E. coli, and fecal scores in weanling pigs. Pigs were randomly allotted into 1 of 4 dietary treatments, with 6 replicates per treatment and 5 pigs per pen. Pigs in control group were fed a diet based on corn, soybean and 20% dried whey. Experimental groups received the same diet as the control group, but 3, 6, and 9% of the dried whey was replaced by the same percentage of extruded rice. Throughout the experimental periods, no differences were observed on the average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and gain/feed ratio. The diet containing 9% extruded rice had a lower dry matter (78.8 vs. 81.2%, P<0.05), crude protein (72.3 vs. 78.8%, P<0.05) and gross energy (80.2 vs. 88.1%, P<0.05) digestibility than pigs fed control diet on d 14. The blood creatinine concentration of pigs fed 9% extruded rice was higher (1.23 vs. 1.13 mg/dL, P<0.05) than pigs in control group on d 42. Pigs fed the diets with 6% and 9% extruded rice had decreased (P<0.05) fecal E. coli counts on d 14 compared with the control diet. The current results indicate that 3% and 6% of the dried whey can be replaced by the same percentage of extruded rice, which can decrease fecal E. coli counts without negative effects on growth performance in weanling pigs.

Keywords: digestibility, extruded rice, weanling pig