Responses to feeding higher levels of Dried Distiller Grains and Solubles (DDGS) of gilts and barrows, when supplemented with plant extracts (Lean Fuel)

Abstract Text: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of feeding a diet with 50% DDGS either unsupplemented (C) or supplemented with 1,251 mg Lean Fuel (LF) per kg of complete feed in gilts (G) and barrows (B) from a high lean genetic. The experiment lasted for 83 days and was conducted at a commercial research facility with 986 pigs (493 G and 493 B), weighing 37.6 kg at the beginning of the trial, and allocated to C-B (n=8 pens), C-G (n=8 pens), LF-B (n=9 pens) and LF-G (n=9 pens), where pens were blocked by weight, sex, and location in the barn. A FANCOM feed weighing system measured feed delivered to the individual pens, and weight of pigs and feed disappearance were measured on d 0, 14, 28, 42, 56, 70 and 83. Weights and feed were used to calculate ADG, ADFI, and FCR. Data were analyzed as a completely randomized design as a 2x2 factorial using GLM in Minitab with Tukey’s test to determine differences between dietary treatments. For d 83 BW, there was a treatment x sex interaction. The C-G (104.5 kg) weighed less (P < 0.001) than C-B (110.7 kg), LF-B (110.7 kg), and LF-G (107.9 kg). For d 0-83, the pigs fed LF (862 g) tended (P < 0.10) to have a higher ADG than the pigs fed C (842 g).  Also, the B (879 g) gained more (P < 0.001) compared to the G (826 g). There was a treatment by sex interaction (P < 0.05) for d 0-83 ADG. The LF-B (880 g) and C-B (875 g) gained more weight than the LF-G (844 g), and the LF-G had a higher ADG compared to the C-G (807 g).  The B (2,562 g) had a higher ADFI (P < 0.001) compared to the G (2,378 g). The pigs fed the C (2,432 g) consumed less feed (P < 0.05) compared to the pigs fed LF (2,509 g). There was no treatment x sex interaction (P > 0.10) for ADFI.  There were no significant effects on FCR (C-B=2.90, LF-B=2.94, C-G=2.88, LF-G=2.88; P > 0.10) for d 0-83. In conclusion, in high DDGS diets LF significantly improved growth rate of G, and could be used as a tool to allow higher levels of DDGS to be fed to G, to reduce feed input costs, without loss of performance.  

Keywords: Pigs, Plant Extracts, DDGS