Growth performance, blood urea nitrogen and gut morphology of nursery pigs fed a novel, plant-based protein

• Published in: Journal of animal science Vol. 98; p. 103
• Main Authors: Holt, Jonathan P, Sundstrom, Ylva, Hash, Sara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Champaign Oxford University Press 01.11.2020
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Blood; Diet; Feeders; Feeds; Hogs; Ileum; Morphology; Physical growth; Plant-based foods; Protein sources; Proteins; Urea
• ISSN: 0021-8812; 1525-3163

This experiment was conducted to determine a recommended inclusion level of a novel protein source, MrFeed® Pro50, for nursery pigs. 192 pigs (BW 6.41 kg ± 0.11) were blocked by weight and placed four pigs per pen for 35 d. Dietary treatments included a commercial diet with antibiotics (AB) or diets containing 0 (CON), 5%, 10%, or 15% Pro50, fed in three phases. Pigs and feeders were weighed every 7 d. On d 0, 14 and 35, blood samples were collected via vena cava puncture. On d 35, ileum samples were collected from 48 pigs. From d 0 to d 7, ADG was greater (P < 0.001) for pigs fed AB (0.15 kg/d) compared to pigs fed other treatments (: 0.09 kg, 5%: 0.09 kg/d, 10%: 0.1 kg/d, 15%: 0.09 kg/d). This is due to a greater (P = 0.002) ADFI for pigs fed AB (0.31 kg/d) compared to CON (0.26 kg/d), 5% (0.25 kg/d), 10% (0.27 kg/d) and 15% (0.27 kg/d) during the same time period. From d 28 to d 35, ADG for pigs fed AB (0.67 kg/d) or CON (0.69 kg/d) was greater than pigs fed 10% (0.56 kg/d) or 15% (0.57 kg/d), with 5% being intermediate (0.65 kg/d). At d 35, AB fed pigs (23.35 kg) weighed more than all other treatments (CON: 21.4 kg, 5%: 21.0 kg, 10%: 19.4 kg, 15%: 18.6 kg; P = 0.002). On d 35, BUN was greater (P = 0.005) for CON (14.5 mg/dL) and AB (16.5 mg/dL) fed pigs compared to 5%, 10% and 15% fed pigs (5.66 mg/dL, 6.33 mg/dL, 7.75 mg/dL, respectively). No differences (P > 0.05) in villi height or crypt depth were observed. The optimal inclusion level of MrFeed® Pro50 is 5% for nursery pig diets.