HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jas.2008-1119v1 87/3/1003    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Veum, T. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Veum, T. L.

The addition of ground wheat straw as a fiber source in the gestation diet of sows and the effect on sow and litter performance for three successive parities

T. L. Veum^*, J. D. Crenshaw, T. D. Crenshaw, G. L. Cromwell, R. A. Easter^***, R. C. Ewan^**, J. L. Nelssen, E. R. Miller, J. E. Pettigrew, M. R. Ellersieck^* and the North Central Region-42 Committee on Swine Nutrition

^* University of Missouri, Columbia 65211 , North Dakota State University, Fargo 58102 , University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706 , University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546 , ^*** University of Illinois, Urbana 61801 , ^** Iowa State University, Ames 50011 , Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506 , Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824 University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108

veumt{at}missouri.edu

Abstract

A regional experiment was conducted at 8 experiment stations with a total of 320 sows initially to evaluate the efficacy of adding 13.35% ground wheat straw to a corn-soybean meal gestation diet for 3 successive gestation-lactation (reproductive) cycles compared with sows fed the control diet without straw. There were a total of 708 litters farrowed over 3 reproductive cycles. The basal gestation diet intake averaged 1.95 kg daily for both treatments, plus 0.30 kg of straw daily for sows fed the diet containing ground wheat straw (total intake of 2.25 kg/d). During lactation, all sows on both gestation treatments were fed ad libitum the standard lactation diet used at each station. Response criteria were sow farrowing and rebreeding percentages, culling factors and culling rate, weaning to estrus interval, sow BW and backfat measurements at several time points, and litter size and total litter weight at birth and weaning. Averaged over 3 reproductive cycles, sows fed the diet containing wheat straw farrowed and weaned 0.51 more pigs/ litter (P 0.04), and had total litter birth and weaning weights that were 0.87 and 3.59 kg heavier (P = 0.01), respectively, than sows fed the control gestation diet. Sows fed the gestation diet containing wheat straw consumed more (P = 0.01) lactation diet/d than control sows. There were no gestation diet treatment differences for any sow fate criteria (farrowing and rebreeding percentages, and culling rate), sow BW and backfat measurements, or weaning to estrus interval. Lactation diet intake and all sow BW and backfat measurements increased with increasing parity. In conclusion, when the daily intake of the basal gestation diet was equalized for both treatments, the addition of 13.35% ground wheat straw to the gestation diet improved sow and litter performance with increases in litter size and total litter weight at birth and weaning compared with control sows and litters.

Key Words: dietary fiber • gestation • lactation • sow and litter performance • swine • wheat straw