Estimation of the standardized ileal digestible lysine requirement for primiparous pregnant sows

This experiment was conducted to determine the optimal standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID Lys) level in diets fed to primiparous sows during gestation. A total of 150 (Landrace × Large White) crossbred gilts (weighing 149.9 ± 3.1 kg) were fed gestation diets (12.55 MJ of ME/kg) containing SID Lys levels of 0.43, 0.52, 0.60, 0.70 or 0.80% respectively. Gilts were fed 2.0 kg/day from day 1 to 80 and 3.0 kg/day from day 80 to 110 of gestation respectively. Gilts were allocated to treatments based on their body weight on the day of breeding. Weight gain from day 80 to 110 increased with increasing dietary SID Lys levels (p = 0.044). Fitted broken‐line (p = 0.031) and quadratic plot (p = 0.047) analysis of body weight gain indicated that the optimal SID Lys level for primiparous sows was 0.70 and 0.69% respectively. During gestation, neither backfat thickness nor loin eye area was affected by dietary SID Lys level. Increasing dietary Lys had no effect on the litter size at birth or pigs born alive per litter. Litter weight at birth was not affected by dietary SID Lys level. The litter weight variation at birth quadratically decreased with increasing dietary SID Lys (p = 0.021) and was minimized at 0.70% dietary SID Lys. Gilts fed the 0.70% SID Lys diet had the highest dry matter (p = 0.031) and protein (p = 0.044) content in colostrum. On day 110 of gestation, gilts fed the 0.70% SID Lys diet tended to have the highest serum prolactin (p = 0.085) and serum insulin (p = 0.074) levels. The data demonstrate that the optimal dietary SID Lys was 0.70% for pregnant gilts, which is similar to the recommendation of 0.69% that was estimated by the NRC (2012).     

Estimation of the optimum standardized ileal digestible total sulfur amino acid to lysine ratio in late finishing gilts fed low protein diets supplemented with crystalline amino acids

A total of 90 gilts were used to investigate the effects of various standard ileal digestible (SID) total sulfur amino acid (TSAA) to lysine (Lys) ratios on the performance and carcass characteristics of late finishing gilts receiving low crude protein (CP) diets supplemented with crystalline amino acids (CAA). Graded levels of crystalline methionine (Met) (0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8 or 1.1 g/kg) were added to the basal diet to produce diets providing SID TSAA to Lys ratios of 0.48, 0.53, 0.58, 0.63 or 0.68. At the termination of the experiment, 30 gilts (one pig per pen) with an average body weight (BW) of 120 kg were killed to evaluate carcass traits. Increasing the SID TSAA to Lys ratio increased average daily gain (ADG) (linear and quadratic effect, P < 0.05), improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) (linear and quadratic effect, P < 0.05) and decreased serum urea nitrogen (SUN) concentration (linear and quadratic effect, P < 0.05) of finishing gilts. No effects were obtained for carcass traits. The optimum SID TSAA to Lys ratios to maximize ADG as well as to minimize FCR and SUN levels were 0.57, 0.58 and 0.53 using a linear‐break point model and 0.64, 0.62 and 0.61 using a quadratic model.     

Estimation of the standardized ileal digestible lysine requirement and optimal sulphur amino acids to lysine ratio for 30–50 kg pigs

Two experiments were conducted to determine the standardized ileal digestible (SID) lysine (Lys) requirement and the ideal SID sulphur amino acids (SAA) to Lys ratio for 30–50 kg crossbred pigs. In experiment 1, a total of 72 crossbred pigs with an average initial body weight (BW) of 28.9 kg were allotted to one of six dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. Each diet was assigned to six pens containing two pigs each. Six diets were obtained by supplementing graded levels of L‐Lysine?HCl to create six dietary levels of SID Lys (0.70%, 0.80%, 0.90%, 1.00%, 1.10% and 1.20%). Responses of weight gain (ADG) and gain:feed (G:F) to increasing the SID Lys content of the diet fitted well with the curvilinear‐plateau model; whereas, for plasma urea nitrogen (PUN) two‐slope linear broken‐line model was well fitted. The optimal SID Lys requirement for the pigs of this period was 1.10%. Experiment 2 was a dose–response study using SID Met+Cys to Lys ratios of 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70% and 64%. A total of 72 crossbred pigs with initial BW of 32.9 kg were randomly allotted to receive one of the six diets. Diets 1–5 were formulated to contain 1.0% SID Lys to be second limiting in Lys and diet 6 contained 1.11% SID Lys to be adequate in Lys. The average optimal SID SAA:Lys ratio for maximal ADG and G:F and minimal PUN was 65.2% using curvilinear‐plateau and linear broken‐line models.     

Evaluation of standardized ileal digestible lysine requirement for 8–20 kg pigs fed low crude protein diets

Two experiments were conducted to determine the standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID Lys) requirement for weaned pigs fed with low crude protein (CP) diet. In Experiment 1, 144 pigs were fed a normal CP (20%) diet with 12.3 g/kg SID Lys and five low CP (18.5%) diets providing SID Lys levels of 9.8, 11.1, 12.3, 13.5, and 14.8 g/kg, respectively, for 28 days. Reducing dietary CP from 20% to 18.5% enhanced (p < 0.05) the growth performance. The average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed ratio (G:F) increased (linear and quadratic; p < 0.05), serum urea nitrogen (SUN) decreased (linear and quadratic; p < 0.05) as SID Lys increased. The SID Lys levels required to maximize ADG and optimize G:F were 12.8 and 13.1 g/kg using a curvilinear plateau model, and to minimize SUN was 13.4 g/kg using a two‐slope broken‐line model, which averaged 13.1 g/kg SID Lys. In Experiment 2, 18 pigs were used in a 12‐day N balance trial and received the same diets of Experiment 1. Total N excretion was decreased when dietary CP reduced and further decreased when SID Lys increased. Collectively, 1.5% dietary CP reduction improved the growth performance and decreased the N excretion; the optimal SID Lys requirement was at 13.1 g/kg of 8–20 kg pigs fed with 18.5% CP diet.     

Effects of the standardized ileal digestible valine : lysine ratio on performance,milk composition and plasma indices of lactating sows

To determine the effects of standardized ileal digestible (SID) valine : lysine ratio on the performance, milk composition and plasma indices of lactating sows, 32 Large White × Landrace sows (219.78 ± 7.15 kg body weight; parity 1.82 ± 0.62) were allotted to one of four dietary treatments with eight sows per treatment based on parity, back fat thickness and body weight. The sows were fed corn‐soybean meal‐based diets containing 63, 83, 103 or 123% SID valine : lysine from day 107 of gestation until day 28 of lactation. The average daily feed intake of sows and daily weight gain of piglets increased linearly (P < 0.05) while back fat loss decreased linearly (P < 0.05) as the SID valine : lysine ratio increased. All of the analyzed amino acids in sow colostrum and valine concentrations of sow and piglet plasma increased linearly (P < 0.05) with the increasing SID valine : lysine ratio. In conclusion, 88 and 113% dietary SID valine : lysine ratios were optimal to achieve minimum back fat loss and maximum piglet growth rate using a linear‐break point model which exceeds the requirement of 85% that is estimated by the National Research Council (2012).     

The effect of the ratio of standardized ileal digestible lysine to metabolizable energy on growth performance, blood metabolites and hormones of lactating sows

ABSTRACT: A total of 335 lactating sows (Landrace × Large White) were used in two experiments to determine the optimum ratio of standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID-Lys) to metabolizable energy (ME) for mixed parity sows during lactation. In Exp. 1, 185 sows (weighing an average of 256.2 ± 6.5 kg and having an average parity of 3.4 ± 0.3) were allocated to one of six experimental diets in a completely randomized block design within parity groups (1, 2, and 3+). The experimental diets were formulated to contain 3.06, 3.16, 3.20, 3.25, 3.30 or 3.40 Mcal/kg of ME and each diet was fed to the sows throughout a 28 day lactation. All diets provided a similar SID-lysine level (0.86%). As a result, the diets provided a SID-Lys:ME ratio of 2.81, 2.72, 2.69, 2.65, 2.61 or 2.53 g/Mcal ME. Sow feed intake was significantly (P < 0.01) affected by the energy content of the diet as well as by sow parity. Using regression analysis, feed intake was shown to be maximized at 3.25, 3.21, 3.21 and 3.21 Mcal/kg of ME for parity 1, 2, 3+ sows and the entire cohort of sows respectively (quadratic; P < 0.01). In addition, the result of feed intake can be expressed as 2.65, 2.69, 2.69 and 2.68 g/Mcal based on analysis of SID-Lys:ME ratio. Litter weight gain was affected by dietary treatment for parity 3+ sows and the entire cohort (P < 0.01). Based on regression analysis, litter weight gain was maximized at 3.25 and 3.24 Mcal/kg of ME for parity 3+ (quadratic; P < 0.01) and the entire cohort (quadratic; P < 0.01). Similarly, the result of litter weight gain could be expressed as 2.65 and 2.66 g/Mcal of SID-Lys:ME ratio. Therefore, 3.25 Mcal/kg of ME was selected for Exp. 2 in which 150 sows (weighing 254.6 ± 7.3 kg and having an average parity of 3.4 ± 0.4) were allocated to one of five treatments in a completely randomized block design within parity (1, 2, and 3+). The experimental diets were formulated to contain 2.1, 2.4, 2.7, 3.0 or 3.3 g/Mcal of SID-Lys:ME ratio with all diets providing 3.25 Mcal/kg of ME. The diets were fed to the sows throughout a 28 day lactation. Sow body weight loss was affected by dietary treatment (parity 3+ sows, P = 0.02; entire cohort, P < 0.01) and by sow parity (P < 0.01). Litter weight at weaning and litter weight gain were affected by dietary treatment for parity 1, 2, 3+ sows and the entire cohort (P < 0.01) as well as by sow parity (P < 0.01). Plasma urea nitrogen (P < 0.01), creatinine (P < 0.01) and non-esterifide fatty acids (P = 0.04) were decreased as the SID-Lys:ME ratio of the diet increased. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (P = 0.02), estradiol (P < 0.01) and luteinizing hormone (P = 0.02) were increased as the SID-Lys:ME ratio in diet increased. Based on a broken-line model, the estimated SID-Lys:ME ratio to maximize litter weight gain was estimated to be 3.05 g/Mcal.     

The effect of the ratio of standardized ileal digestible lysine to metabolizable energy on growth performance, blood metabolites and hormones of lactating sows

A total of 335 lactating sows (Landrace × Large White) were used in two experiments to determine the optimum ratio of standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID-Lys) to metabolizable energy (ME) for mixed parity sows during lactation. In Exp. 1, 185 sows (weighing an average of 256.2 ± 6.5 kg and having an average parity of 3.4 ± 0.3) were allocated to one of six experimental diets in a completely randomized block design within parity groups (1, 2, and 3+). The experimental diets were formulated to contain 3.06, 3.16, 3.20, 3.25, 3.30 or 3.40 Mcal/kg of ME and each diet was fed to the sows throughout a 28 day lactation. All diets provided a similar SID-lysine level (0.86%). As a result, the diets provided a SID-Lys:ME ratio of 2.81, 2.72, 2.69, 2.65, 2.61 or 2.53 g/Mcal ME. Sow feed intake was significantly (P < 0.01) affected by the energy content of the diet as well as by sow parity. Using regression analysis, feed intake was shown to be maximized at 3.25, 3.21, 3.21 and 3.21 Mcal/kg of ME for parity 1, 2, 3+ sows and the entire cohort of sows respectively (quadratic; P < 0.01). In addition, the result of feed intake can be expressed as 2.65, 2.69, 2.69 and 2.68 g/Mcal based on analysis of SID-Lys:ME ratio. Litter weight gain was affected by dietary treatment for parity 3+ sows and the entire cohort (P < 0.01). Based on regression analysis, litter weight gain was maximized at 3.25 and 3.24 Mcal/kg of ME for parity 3+ (quadratic; P < 0.01) and the entire cohort (quadratic; P < 0.01). Similarly, the result of litter weight gain could be expressed as 2.65 and 2.66 g/Mcal of SID- Lys:ME ratio. Therefore, 3.25 Mcal/kg of ME was selected for Exp. 2 in which 150 sows (weighing 254.6 ± 7.3 kg and having an average parity of 3.4 ± 0.4) were allocated to one of five treatments in a completely randomized block design within parity (1, 2, and 3+). The experimental diets were formulated to contain 2.1, 2.4, 2.7, 3.0 or 3.3 g/Mcal of SID-Lys:ME ratio with all diets providing 3.25 Mcal/kg of ME. The diets were fed to the sows throughout a 28 day lactation. Sow body weight loss was affected by dietary treatment (parity 3+ sows, P = 0.02; entire cohort, P < 0.01) and by sow parity (P < 0.01). Litter weight at weaning and litter weight gain were affected by dietary treatment for parity 1, 2, 3+ sows and the entire cohort (P < 0.01) as well as by sow parity (P < 0.01). Plasma urea nitrogen (P < 0.01), creatinine (P < 0.01) and non-esterifide fatty acids (P = 0.04) were decreased as the SID-Lys:ME ratio of the diet increased. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (P = 0.02), estradiol (P < 0.01) and luteinizing hormone (P = 0.02) were increased as the SID-Lys:ME ratio in diet increased. Based on a broken-line model, the estimated SID-Lys: ME ratio to maximize litter weight gain was estimated to be 3.05 g/Mcal.     

Additivity of standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids in mixed diets containing multiple protein sources for growing pigs fed three crude protein levels

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary crude protein (CP) levels of semi‐purified diets on the additivity of values for standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in mixed diets from multiple protein sources for growing pigs. A total of 28 barrows (initial BW, 66.4 ± 1.3 kg) were surgically fitted with simple T‐cannulas at the distal ileum and assigned to a replicated 14 × 4 incomplete Latin square design with 14 diets and 4 periods. The 14 experimental diets consisted of a nitrogen‐free diet; a corn‐based diet (80 g CP/kg); nine semi‐purified diets containing soya bean meal (SBM), canola meal (CM) or corn distillers dried grains with solubles (cDDGS), each type (protein source) of semi‐purified diets supplied 80, 120 or 160 g CP/kg, respectively; three mixed diets based on corn, SBM, CM and cDDGS formulated to contain 120, 160 and 200 g CP/kg respectively. Pigs were fed each of the 14 diets during a seven‐day period, and ileal digesta were collected from 08:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m on day 6 and 7. Chromic oxide was added as an indigestible marker. Results indicated that the SID of CP and AA were not affected by CP levels (p > .05). Values for SID of AA were additive (p > .05) with the exception of His and Lys; Arg and Lys; Arg, Lys, Thr, Asp, Cys and Gly in the mixed diets containing 120, 160 and 200 g CP/kg respectively (p < .05). In conclusion, additivity of SID values of AA in the mixed diets at different CP levels was not affected by the CP levels of semi‐purified diets for growing pigs. Therefore, it is recommended that SID values of AA should be used to formulate practical diets containing multiple ingredients for pigs.     

Effects of low-protein diets supplemented with crystalline amino acids on performance and intestinal development in piglets over the first 2 weeks after weaning

This study was conducted to determine the effects of low-protein diets supplemented with crystalline amino acids (AA) on performance and intestinal development in barrows (n = 32) over 2 weeks after weaning at 18 ± 1 day. Four maize-soybean meal based diets providing 0.93 g standardized ileal digestible lysine/MJ ME were prepared. The treatments were a control diet containing 23.1% CP (crude protein) and three low-protein diets (21.2, 18.9, and 17.2% CP, respectively), which were supplemented with crystalline AA to achieve an ideal AA pattern. Piglets were raised individually and had free access to feed and water. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were measured weekly. Severity of diarrhea was monitored twice per day. Blood from all piglets was taken for determining serum urea nitrogen on d 0, 7, and 14 and serum free AA concentration on d 14. At the end of the experiment, all piglets were killed to measure morphology of the small intestine and disaccharidase activities. Reducing CP level did not affect ADFI (P > 0.10) but resulted in poorer (linear, P < 0.05; quadratic, P < 0.05) ADG and feed:gain ratio (F:G) over the 2-week study period. However, most of the effect of dietary CP was due to the significant deterioration of performance with the 17.2% CP diet. Faecal consistency was improved linearly (P < 0.01) with dietary CP decrease. Reducing dietary CP from 23.1 to 17.2% resulted in a linear (P < 0.001) and quadratic (P < 0.001) decrease in serum urea nitrogen levels on d 7 and 14. Serum arginine (P < 0.001), glutamine (P < 0.05), and proline (P < 0.05) concentrations were decreased in pigs fed the 17.2% CP diet compared with those fed the control diet on d 14. Villous height was decreased (P < 0.05) in the duodenum and jejunum by the reduction of dietary CP. As dietary CP declined, lactase and sucrase activities were reduced (P < 0.01) in the proximal jejunum. In conclusion, reducing CP concentration from 23.1 to 17.2% led to decreased growth performance associated with morphological changes of the gut and reduced disaccharidase activities in the small intestine. But reducing dietary CP from 23.1 to 18.9% did not affect intestinal morphology and disaccharidase activities.     

Corn protein has greater concentrations of digestible amino acids and energy than low-oil corn distillers dried grains with solubles when fed to pigs but does not affect the growth performance of weanling pigs

Three experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) and digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) in a new source of corn protein are greater than in corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and that corn protein may be included in diets for weanling pigs. In experiment 1, the SID of AA was determined in two sources of DDGS (DDGS-1 and DDGS-2) and in corn protein. Results indicated that SID of most AA was greater (P < 0.05) in DDGS-2 and corn protein than in DDGS-1, but corn protein contained more digestible AA than both sources of DDGS. In experiment 2, the DE and ME in corn, the two sources of DDGS, and corn protein were determined. Results demonstrated that DE (dry matter basis) in corn protein was greater (P < 0.05) than in corn, but ME (dry matter basis) was not different between corn and corn protein. However, DE and ME in corn (dry matter basis) were greater (P < 0.05) than in DDGS-1 and DDGS-2. In experiment 3, 160 weanling pigs were allotted to four treatments in phases 1 and 2 and a common diet in phase 3. Corn protein was included at 5% to 10% in phases 1 and 2 at the expense of plasma protein and enzyme-treated soybean meal. Results indicated that although differences in average daily gain and gain to feed ratio were observed in phase 1, no differences among treatments were observed for the overall experimental period. In conclusion, the concentration of digestible AA is greater in corn protein than in DDGS; DE and ME in corn protein are also greater than in DDGS; and up to 10% corn protein may be included in phase 1 and phase 2 diets for weanling pigs.