Response of pigs to dietary inclusion of formic acid and ammonium formate

¹ Department of Animal Science and Interdepartmental Nutrition Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Joan_Eisemann{at}ncsu.edu.

	Abstract

The objective was to determine the optimal inclusion rate of dietary formic acid-ammonium formate (Ammfor 99, Kemira Chemicals Oy, Helsinki, Finland; composition by weight was formic acid, 62%, ammonium formate, 37%) in nursery and grower-finisher diets or grower-finisher diets only. At weaning (d 21 ± 2), 224 pigs (equal gilts and barrows) were blocked by BW within sex (28 pigs per BW block, 4 pigs per pen) and assigned randomly to 1 of 7 dietary treatments within each block. Dietary treatments (T), listed as percentage dietary formic acid-ammonium formate in the nursery (N) and the grower-finisher (GF) diets were (N/GF): T1: 0.0/0.0; T2: 1.2/1.0; T3: 0.0/1.0; T4: 1.0/0.8; T5: 0.0/0.8; T6: 0.8/0.6; and T7: 0.0/0.6. During the grower 2 period, pigs fed treatments containing formic acid-ammonium formate in nursery diets (T2, T4, and T6) had greater (P < 0.05) ADG and G:F than pigs fed diets containing formic acid-ammonium formate in the grower periods only (T3, T5, and T7). Average daily feed intake tended to decrease (N1, P = 0.07) or decreased (N2, P < 0.05) for pigs fed formic acid-ammonium formate in the nursery (T2, T4, and T6) compared to pigs fed control diets (T1, T3, T5, and T7). The ADFI decreased (P < 0.05) also during the G1 and G2 periods for pigs fed diets containing formic acid-ammonium formate compared to pigs fed control (T1). In the combined nursery data, there was no effect (P > 0.10) of treatment on ADG. Pigs on diets containing formic acid-ammonium formate ate less feed (P < 0.05) and had improved G:F (P < 0.05) compared to pigs on the control treatments (T1, T3, T5, and T7). Combining the grower-finisher phases, G:F was greater (P = 0.05) for pigs fed diets containing formic acid-ammonium formate than for pigs fed the control feed. Feed efficiency was improved 3.5% for pigs fed all formic acid-ammonium formate treatments, ranging from 2.3% (T7) to 5.9% (T4), compared to pigs fed control (T1). Combining all phases from nursery to finisher, the G:F ratio tended (P = 0.08) to be greater for pigs fed formic acid-ammonium formate compared to pigs fed control. Feed efficiency was improved 3.0% for pigs fed all formic acid-ammonium formate treatments, ranging from 1.8% (T7) to 5.2% (T4), compared to pigs fed control (T1).

Key Words: ammonium formate, formic acid, growth performance, pig