Swine Nutrition & Management

Swine Nutrition & Management AnS 320 Fall 2006

Feeding Pigs -- Major Biological Processes • Maintenance • Repair or replacement of body tissues and fluids • Voluntary (walking) and involuntary (heart contractions) activities • Generation of body heat for warmth • Regulation of immune systems • Growth • Production of body tissues (muscle, bone), organs (mammary glands), fluids (milk), fluid components (red blood cells)

Factors Affecting Nutrient Requirements of Pigs • Environment • Temperature, weather, housing, competition • Breed, sex, and genetic background • Health status of the herd • Presence of molds, toxins, or inhibitors • Availability and absorption of dietary nutrients

Factors Affecting Nutrient Requirements of Pigs • Variation of nutrient content and availability in the feed • Level of feed additives or growth promotants • Energy concentration in the diet • Level of feeding – limit feeding vs. ad libitum

Energy • Mostly supplied by carbohydrates and fats • Cereal grains – corn, milo, wheat, barley, and by-products • Fat – 2.25 X energy of cereal grains • Most cereal grains and fats are palatable and digestible • Cereal by-products are more variable – limited use in swine diets

Cereal Grains • Corn is primary energy source • Generally meet the pig’s energy needs • Must be supplemented with: • Amino acids (protein) • Vitamins • Minerals • Must determine adequate energy intake • If low-energy feeds are used or external factors limit feed intake • Pigs are limit fed – sows and gilts

Additional Energy Sources • Milo – equal substitute for corn – primarily used in Southwest • Wheat – excellent feed grain, usually not competitive in price • Barley – less energy and more fiber – improves meat quality??? • Oats – more lysine, more fiber • High-lysine corn – selected for improved protein quality

Fat in Swine Diets • Choice white grease, beef tallow, corn oil, soybean oil • 2.25 X metabolizable energy of cereal grains • 3 – 5% fat in grow-finish diets will improve ADG and FE • Tends to increase backfat • Reduces dust and wear on equipment • Potential handling and storage problems • Economic decision

Proteins andAmino Acids • Pig does not have a specific requirement for crude protein • Does have requirements for amino acids • Proteins are made up of different combinations of approximately 20 different amino acids • Proteins are broken down into amino acids that are absorbed into the bloodstream • Crude protein usually meets AA requirements – must check if synthetic amino acids or by-products are used

Essential Amino Acids • 10 essential amino acids • Most cereal grains are limiting in lysine, tryptophan, threonine, and methionine • Level determines protein quality – lysine is most important • Limiting amino acid – protein synthesis cannot proceed beyond level of any essential amino acid • Deficiency results in lower ADG, reduced FE, unthriftiness, and reduced reproductive performance

Amino Acid Deficiency • Consider amino acids as the staves of a barrel • You can fill the barrel (growth rate) only to the level of the shortest stave Methionine Threonine Isoleucine Tryptophan Lysine Valine

Rain Barrel Concept • Shortage of an amino acid will limit growth and (or) reproductive performance Methionine Threonine Isoleucine Valine Tryptophan Lysine

Sources of Amino Acids • Plant sources • Soybean meal – primary source in swine diets • Cottonseed meal • Corn gluten meal • Animal sources • Meat and bone meal • Tankage • Fish meal • Spray-dried blood meal – early-weaned pig diets

Synthetic Amino Acids • Can reduce feed costs and maintain pig performance • Lysine and methionine are most common • Synthetic lysine can reduce soybean meal requirement – must evaluate economics • Not used in gestation and lactation diets • Gestation – poorly utilized if not fed ad libitum • Lactation – decreases amount of other AA relative to lysine – reduce litter weaning weights

Minerals • Role ranges from structural functions to wide variety of regulatory functions • Important for health and well-being of the pig • Importance increased with confinement due to reduced access to soil and forages • Macrominerals – major minerals • Calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, potassium • Microminerals – minor or trace minerals • Zinc, copper, iron, manganese, iodine, selenium, chromium

Minerals to Swine Diets • Should not be added haphazardly • “If a little is good, more is better” does not hold true • Some minerals, if added in excess, will interfere with absorption of other minerals • All minerals have a toxic level • Impact on environment

Calcium and Phosphorus • Important in skeletal structure and development • Essential for blood clotting, muscle contraction, energy metabolism • Deficiency will result in impaired bone mineralization, reduced bone growth, and poor growth rate • “Downer Sows” may result if sows are fed diets low in Ca and P – sows remove Ca and P from the bone, decreasing bone strength

Calcium and Phosphorus • Calcium • Most grains are low in calcium • Limestone is source of supplemental Ca • Phosphorus • Mainly supplied by dicalcium phosphate or monocalcium phosphate • Feeds of animal origin are high in calcium and available phosphorus • P content of cereal grains is mainly phytate phosphorus – poorly utilized by swine

Phytate Phosphorus – Unavailable Form of Phosphorus • 50 to 70% of P in plant products is unavailable to the pig • Not digested and is excreted in manure • Excess phosphorus excretion into the environment – formulate diets based on available P • Phytase – enzyme that increases digestibility of phytate phosphorus • Use to reduce phosphorus excretions • Evaluate economics

Vitamins • Required for normal metabolic function • Development of normal tissues • Growth and maintenance • Some are produced by the pig, some are present in commonly used feed ingredients, several must be added to swine diets • Natural sources – very few are used today • Green leafy plants, grasses, alfalfa • Less variety in feed ingredients to supply vitamins • Vitamin content of grain and protein sources may be unavailable or lost during storage

Important Vitamins • Fat-soluble • A, D, E, and K • Water-soluble or B-complex • Pantothenic acid • Riboflavin • Niacin • B12 • Gestation/Lactation Diets • Folic acid, pyridoxine, choline, biotin • Synthetic vitamins added in form of vitamin premix

Changes in Vitamin/Mineral Nutrition • Increased confinement – no access to growing crops and soil • Increased use of slotted floors – less recycling of feces • Fewer protein sources in diets • Reduced daily feed intake in gestation • Early weaning of pigs – diet is more critical • Availability of nutrients in heat-dried grains and feed ingredients varies widely

Water • Most essential and cheapest of all nutrients • Water deprivation • Reduces feed consumption, limits growth and feed efficiency, lowers milk production • Physiological functions • Temperature regulation • Transport of nutrients and wastes • Metabolic processes • Lubrication • Milk production

Water Requirements • Related to feed intake and body weight • 80% of BW at birth • 50% of BW in finished market pig • Pigs consume 1.5 to 2X as much water as feed • Need is increased with: • High salt intake • High temperatures • Fever, diarrhea • Lactation • Wet feeding or liquid feeding • Improved FE and less water wastage in finishing • Potential for spoilage and mold problems

Feed Additives • Animal drugs – antibiotics, dewormers • Withdrawal time • Growth-promoting minerals • Copper sulfate, zinc oxide • Enzymes – phytase • Organic acids – may improve digestibility for early weaned pigs • Probiotics – organisms that stimulate growth of desirable organisms in the gut • Lactobacillus, streptococcus, etc.

Feed Processing Systems • Complete feed – ready-to-feed product delivered to the farm • Grain and supplement (40% protein) • Base mix program – everything except grain and protein • Premix program – • Most precisely designed and cost-effective • Macro minerals, trace minerals, and vitamins added to protein and grain

Evaluating Economics • Base price of ingredients is important • Cheapest diet is not always best • Evaluate cost/lb of gain • Numerous opportunities to evaluate and adjust diets

Impact of Changing Diet Cost by $5/ton WeightFeed/pig,lbCents/pig 11-15 5 1.2 15-25 15 3.8 25-50 50 12.5 50-80 69 17.2 80-120 107 26.8 120-160 119 29.8 160-200 132 33.0 200-250 177 44.2

Lactation • A lactating sow nursing 9 + pigs/litter is estimated to need approximately • 17 Mcal of metabolizable energy and • 45 to 50 grams of lysine per day KSU Swine Nutrition Guide

What Factors Affect Feed Intake of Lactating Sows?? • Environmental Conditions • Particularly HEAT • Room temps, geographical area, season • Genetics • High-lean lines have reduced appetites • Parity • Older parities have more capacity to ingest feed

Feed intake and nutrient content of diets tend to be inversely related 1.4 Mcal/lb 17 Mcal ME x = 12 lbs 12 lbs 0.9 % 50 g lysine Sow Feed Intake Nutrient Content of Ration Daily Nutrient Requirements KSU, Swine Nutrition Guide

Feed intake and nutrient content of diets tend to be inversely related 2.1 Mcal/lb 17 Mcal ME x = 12 lbs 8 lbs 1.4% 50 g lysine Sow Feed Intake Nutrient Content of Ration Daily Nutrient Requirements KSU, Swine Nutrition Guide

Feed intake and nutrient content of diets tend to be inversely related 17 Mcal ME 16 lbs x = 1.1 Mcal/lb 12 lbs 50 g lysine 0.7 % Sow Feed Intake Nutrient Content of Ration Daily Nutrient Requirements KSU Swine Nutrition Guide

Effect of Drip and Snout Coolers on Feed Intake McGlone et al., 1988; room temperature maintained at 86° F.

General Guidelines for Feeding Lactating Sows • Never limit feed sows • Estimate feed intake patterns and adjust diets accordingly • Meet the target lysine and energy intakes • Record feed intake or chart daily consumption • Consider two or more lactation diets • Summer versus winter • Gilts versus sows

General Feeding Recommendations after Farrowing • Option 1. Ad libitum access to feed following farrowing • Gets the female to full feed quickly • May result in more opportunity for lactation failure (some farms report this as a problem) • Important to actively get sows up at feeding time

General Feeding Recommendations after Farrowing • Option 2. Start at 4 to 5 pounds per day on day of farrowing, increase in 2 to 3 pound intervals over the next 3 days • Full feed achieved in about 4 to 5 days • May result in fewer milk production problems • May result in more total feed intake during lactation

Increasing Feed Intake • Cool sows • Snout coolers, drip system • Intermittent dripping is best • Feed 2 to 3 times per day • Get sows up and moving • Early mornings and nights when heat stressed • Provide only Fresh Feed • Avoid stale feed in feeder and feed supply • Clean old feed out thoroughly • Wet Feeding • Gruel feeding, be aware of potential for spoilage

Impact of Water Intake on Milk Production • Sow will drink 5 to 8 gallons of water a day • Recommended flow rate of 4 cups per minute • Effect of 0.3 cup/min vs 3 cups/min • 10 to 15% reduction in Feed Intake over a 21 day lactation • Stray-voltage will severely restrict water intake and impact performance

Lactation Feeding Levels Parity ADF (lb/day @21 day) • 1 10.0 to 11.0 • 2 13.0 to 14.0 • 3 + 14.0 to 16.0

Early Weaning Technology • Goal -- to control chronic swine diseases by isolating the young pig from its dam at an early age • Pigs are free of many chronic pathogens at birth • Colostral antibodies are important

Benefits of Early Weaning • Reduce production losses caused by disease • Reduce medication costs • Maximize potential for lean growth • Increase pigs/breeding female/year • Reduces need for total depopulation of herd

Feeding Behavior • Early weaned pigs try to eat at the feeder simultaneously • Place feed on a feeding board several times a day to provide ample space • Use clean polyethylene boards to prevent transfer of infectious organisms • Implement short feeding times on boards • Feed is expensive • Higher feed wastage • ½ to 1 in. high rim to prevent wastage

Feeder Design A variety ofmanufacturers market nursery feeders that are properly designed.

Goals - Nursery Performance Nutritional Programs for Early Weaned Pigs • ADG between .80 and .90 lb/day • F/G between 1.55 and 1.75 • Mortality < 2% • Feed costs ~ $7 per pig • $.15 to $.20 per lb of gain

Early-Weaned Pigs • Good nutrition is critical immediately after weaning 1) Good nutrition increases average daily gain through market 2) Good nutrition maximizes lean growth potential 3) Good nutrition decreases the risk of enteric disease

Protein Sources: Spray-Dried Blood Meal Spray-Dried Plasma Protein Whey-Protein Soybean Meal Fish Meal Spray-Dried Egg Protein Skim Milk Further Processed Soy Products

Diet Form • Meal diets vs. Pelleted or Crumbled diets • Feed wastage is 20% higher in meal diets • Decreased feed efficiency • Limited feed intake? • Meal diets do not feed down & out of feeders easily because of bridging • Reduce bridging by limiting added fat to 1%

Example Feed Budgets Per Pig Weaning Age and Initial Weight 7 d 14 d 21 d Diet 6 lbs. 9 lbs. 13 lbs. SEW 5 1 -- Transition 5 5 -- Phase 1 -- -- 2 Phase 2 15 15 15 Phase 3 50 50 50

Recommended dietary lysine levels for high-health-status SEW pigs

Swine Nutrition & Management