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In animal nutrition, it is important to study ingredients that minimize production costs and at the same time promote piglet health. Additionally, soybean meal (SBM) supply has declined in recent years while the demand has continued to rise, resulting in a considerable increase of prices and making it imperative to find new sources of protein for piglet feed. In this context, the aim of the present study was to assess the partial replacement of SBM with different sources of protein in piglet feed and their effect on feed digestibility, nitrogen balance, blood parameters and growth performance. The study was conducted by two trials. Trial I was performed with 24 crossbred male pigs with an initial body weight (BW) of 18.28b ± 0.7 kg and used a randomized complete block design consisting of 3 treatments: (i) fish meal (FM); (ii) soybean protein concentrate (SPC); and (iii) soybean meal (SBM) and 8 replicates. Trial II involved 1843 crossbred male and female pigs with an initial BW of 6.79 ± 0.90 kg and was based on a completely randomized design with a 2×3 factorial arrangement (2 sexes and 3 protein sources) and 13 replicates. Trial I showed effects of dietary protein sources on digestible protein (FM, 17.84%; SPC, 16.72%, and SBM, 18.13%) and on total nitrogen excretion (TNE) in which pigs fed with SBM-based feed had TNE values that were 5.36% and 3.72% greater than SPC and FM, respectively. On Trial II, significances were observed between sexes in the pre-starter I and starter phases, and total period in average daily feed intake (ADFI), which was greater in females. Between the protein sources, ADFI, final BW and ADG were significantly higher in SPC than in SBM piglets, while FM piglets showed intermediate values. Blood urea in the pre-starter II and starter phases and blood glucose in the pre-starter II phase significantly differed according to protein source. Moreover, a difference was observed in urea concentrations between sexes in starter phase (females: 57.11 mg/dL and males: 50.60 mg/dL). In conclusion, the use of SBM as the only protein source influenced a larger TNE, reduced the growth performance of piglets and increased plasma urea concentrations in pre-starter II phase. Therefore, the partial replacement of SBM in piglet diets showed beneficial effects both economically and in production.
Genova JL, Carvalho PLO, Oliveira NTE, Oliveira ADC, Gois FD, Castro DESE, Souza FNC, Trautenmüller H, Santos LBAD, Leal IF. (2019). Partial replacement of soybean meal with different protein sources in piglet feed during the nursery phase. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 32(11), 1725. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.17.0753