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Cereal grains are major ingredients in pig feeds, containing high proportion of partly soluble dietary cell wall polysaccharides which can be used in the large intestine as a substrate for microbial fermentation. In previous studies, fermented materials have been reported to improve growth performance, feed efficiency, nutrient digestibility and to decrease faecal noxious gas emission in pigs. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of fermented grains when substituted for raw cereals on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles, and faecal noxious gas emission in growing pigs. Three experiments (Exp.) with different grains such as fermented oat (FO), corn (FC), and wheat (FW) were conducted to evaluate those effects.
In Exp.1, a total of 125 crossbred growing pigs [(Landrace x Yorkshire) x Duroc] with 52 ± 2d of age and 20.5 ± 0.82 kg of BW were used in a 2 -wk experiment. Pigs were fed control diet (FO0) with 20% of unfermented oat (UFO), and diets with 25% (FO25), 50% (FO50), 75% (FO75), and 100% (FO100) fermented oat (FO) to replace UFO. Pigs were randomly allotted to 5 experimental diets according to their initial BW and sex. The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of DM and energy was increased (P<0.05) in FO50, FO75, and FO100 treatments compared with FO0 and FO25 treatments.
In Exp.2, a total of 96 pigs were randomly allotted to four treatments consisting of control (FC0) with 57.05% unfermented corn (UFC), 10% (FC10), 20% (FC20), and 30% (FC30) FC to replace UFC for 6 wks. The ATTD of DM and energy in FC20 was highest (P<0.05) among treatments. The concentration of glucose in FC10 treatment was decreased (P<0.05) compared with that in FC0 and FC20 treatments. Pigs fed FC20 and FC30 diets had lower (P<0.05) faecal H2S and acetic acid emission than pigs fed FC0 diet.
In Exp.3, a total of 120 growing pigs were fed control diet (FW0) with 20% of unfermented wheat (UFW), and diets with 25% (FW25), 50% (FW50), 75% (FW75), and 100% (FW100) FW to replace UFW for 6 wks. Pigs fed FW 75 diet had higher (P<0.05) ADG than those fed FW0 and FW25 diets. The ATTD of DM and N were increased by FW50, FW75, and FW100 treatments compared with FW0 treatment.
In conclusion, results indicate that substitution with 20-75% of comparable fermented grains has variable effects on growth performance and nutrient digestibility, and decrease faecal noxious gas emission of growing pigs and the source of fermented grains may be the major factor in explaining this variation.
J.H. Cho, Z.F. Zhang, I.H. Kim. 2013. Effects of fermented grains as raw cereal substitutes on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles, and faecal noxious gas emission in growing pigs. Livestock Science. 154; 131–136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2013.03.011