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Pig nutritionists and formulators can use different tools to optimise diets. Advanced feed manufacturers use in routine the Dietary Electrolytic Balance (DEB) especially for sow feeds. However, the calculation of both DEB and ABC (Acid-Binding Capacity) for piglet diets can help for the improvement of feed intake and growth performance. DEB, as a ratio between dietary anions and cations, expresses the potential to generate acids or bases. ABC is the capacity of the feed to buffer acid : diets with low ABC support acidification of the bolus in the upper part of the digestive system, thus limiting the development of harmful bacteria. This is critical for weaned piglets which have high gastric pH. Animine has just launched ABC4-calculator software. This is a very user friendly tool, free of charge: no need to register, no need to download. ABC4 calculator enables to measure the buffer capacity of piglet feeds; it is not adapted to growing pigs. Users can modify as many variables as they want : feed formula, by replacing or adding ingredients; ABC4 values, if they have their own matrix values; and inclusion rates.
What is the influence of the pharmacological dosage of zinc oxide ? How much can it neutralize acidifiers ? What is the effect of a substitution by a low dosage of HiZox® ? ABC4 calculator helps to visualize the contributions of minerals and acidifiers to the buffer capacity of the complete feed, and to better understand negative interactions when formulating piglet diets.
http://animine.eu/abc4-calculator/
January 27, 2015 - Animine
