Effect of wheat distillers' grains with solubles and a feed flavour on performance and carcass traits of growing-finishing pigs fed wheat and canola meal based diets

Abstract

Forty-eight crossbred pigs were assigned to one of six dietary treatments in a 6 × 2 (treatment × sex) factorial arrangement. Diets were based on wheat and canola meal and were formulated to contain 0%, 4.9%, 9.7%, 14.6% or 19.4% wheat distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS) during the growing period and 0%, 4.0%, 8.1%, 12.1% and 16.1% wheat DDGS during the finishing period. The addition of wheat DDGS was made at the expense of both wheat and canola meal. A feed flavour was added to the diet in which wheat DDGS supplied 100% of the supplementary protein. Over the entire experimental period (21.5–112.2 kg), increasing the level of wheat DDGS resulted in a linear decrease in weight gain and feed conversion ratio. Feed intake was linearly reduced by inclusion of wheat DDGS during the growing period (21.5–57.4 kg) but not the finishing period (57.4–112.2 kg). Increasing the level of wheat DDGS in the diet resulted in a linear decline in carcass value index and lean yield while loin fat linearly increased. The addition of a flavour to the diet in which DDGS supplied 100% of the supplementary protein had no effect on performance or carcass traits.

Keywords:

• carcass quality
• digestibility
• distillers' grains
• distillers' solubles
• flavour
• pigs
• performance

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the staff of the University of Saskatchewan Swine Unit for the care of the experimental animals. The work of the laboratory technicians in conducting the chemical analyses is also gratefully acknowledged.