Fermented and nonfermented liquid feed to growing pigs: Effect on aspects of gastrointestinal ecology and growth performance

The study examined the growth performance of pigs offered liquid feed or dry feed on either a restricted or an ad libitum basis, and whether their growth performance was further influenced by the water-to-feed ratio. The study was split into two parts to enable unrestricted (trial 1; n 5 64) and restricted (trial 2; n 5 48) feeding to be compared. Male pigs were randomly allocated to six dietary treatment groups. A standard dry pellets diet (D) was offered either as: (i) unrestricted ration (UR); (ii) restricted ration (R); or D soaked in water at a feed-to-water ratio of (iii) 1 : 1.5 restricted (1 : 1.5 R); (iv) 1 : 3 unrestricted (1 : 3 UR); (v) 1 : 3 restricted (1 : 3 R); or (vi) 1 : 3 restricted with the addition of lactic acid to adjust the feed to pH 4 (1 : 3(4) R). Liquid feeding improved (P , 0.05) average daily live-weight gain (ADG) and lean tissue growth rate (LTGR) in the 1 : 3 UR compared with DUR but did not alter feed conversion ratio (FCR). Within the R groups, ADG were greater in all of the 1 : 3 diets, whereas feed intake, and hence FCR, was lower (P , 0.001) in these groups when offered the R ration. In conclusion, liquid feeding has a beneficial influence on the performance of modern porcine genotypes during the growth/finishing phase and this is further modulated by the water-to-feed ratio.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of liquid feeding at different water-to-feed ratios on the growth performance of growing-finishing pigs

Hurst

Clarke

Lean

2008

“…However, there is consistent production of research studies showing that the gains associated with feeding FLF are marginal, at best (e.g. Lawlor et al, 2002;Canibe and Jensen, 2003;Canibe et al, 2007). The lack of consistency between experimental designs make direct comparisons, and logical interpretation, of the many studies difficult (Plumed-Ferrer and von Wright, 2009).…”

Section: Fermented Liquid Feedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probiotics – do they have a role in the pig industry?

Kenny

Smidt

Mengheri

et al. 2011

The delivery of certain living microorganisms in food has long been suggested as having positive health effects in humans. This practice has extended into food animal production, with a variety of microorganisms being used; lactic acid bacteria, variousBacillusspecies and the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaehave been particularly used in the pig industry. The increased interest in probiotics is essentially due to the problem of microbial resistance to antibiotics and following the ban of the use of antibiotics in animal production, probiotics being considered an alternative means to reduce pathogen infection and improve animal health especially around the time of weaning. However, there is still a need to clarify the probiotic effectiveness in pigs, and the underlying mechanisms. When assessing the efficacy of probiotics one must consider the particular strain of organism being used and the production stage of the pigs being treated. The reproducible delivery of probiotics in industrial pig production is problematic as maintenance of viability is key to their beneficial activity, but difficult to achieve with commonly used feed processing technologies. One specific context where probiotics organisms may be reliably delivered is in systems utilising fermented liquid feeds. Liquid feed may be fermented by the activity of wild lactic acid bacteria or may be stimulated using specific isolates as ‘starters’; the latter system has advantages in terms of reproducibility and speed of fermentation. The farm context in which the organism is used is likely to be critical; the use of probiotics is more likely to result in measurable economic gains in animals living in sub-optimal conditions rather than in those reared in the highest welfare and husbandry conditions. The establishment of a beneficial lactic acid bacteria population at birth may lead to healthier animals, this may be most effectively achieved by treating sows, which provide an amplification step and flood the neonatal pigs’ environment with desirable bacterial strains. In contrast, it may be sufficient to provide a supportive, protective microbiota around the time of weaning as this is a time of major crisis with instability and loss of certain bacterial populations.

“…It has been reported that feeding certain probiotic strains to pigs could improve growth performance, prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria and reduce the incidence of diarrhea (Shu et al, 2001;Gardiner et al, 2004;Taras et al, 2006;Casey et al, 2007). At the same time, feeding an FLD prepared with the use of bacteria, such as lactic acid bacteria, has also been shown to improve pig performance and to reduce the number of enteric pathogens (Canibe and Jensen, 2003;Stein and Kil, 2006). These positive influences may be due to the low pH, high short-chain fatty acid content and high lactic acid bacteria content of the FLD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of fermented liquid diet prepared with Lactobacillus plantarum LQ80 on the immune response in weaning pigs

Mizumachi

Aoki

Ohmori

et al. 2009

Probiotics such as lactic acid bacteria directly influence the host's health and have beneficial effects such as decreasing the number of enteric pathogens, regulating intestinal immune responses and preventing diseases. Among domestic animals, probiotics have been expected to be an alternative to antibiotics added in the diet; and fermented liquid diet (FLD) containing probiotics has great potential as a diet for reducing the use of antibiotics. In this study, we evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of FLD, prepared using Lactobacillus plantarum LQ80 (LQ80), on the immune response of weaning pigs. Ten weaning piglets were divided into two groups and were fed the FLD (n 5 5) or a non-fermented liquid diet (NFLD) (n 5 5) for 28 days. At the end of the experiment, the total immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels in the sera of the FLD-fed piglets were significantly higher than those of the NFLD-fed piglets ( P , 0.05). In contrast, the total immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels in the feces and saliva were not significantly affected by FLD feeding. However, the mean fecal IgA levels of FLD-fed piglets at day 28 were higher than those at 14 and 21 days ( P , 0.05). Blood cells from the FLD-fed piglets showed a low level of interferon-g secretion and mitogen-induced proliferation compared to that of the NFLD-fed piglets. Furthermore, the levels of interluekin-8 and tumor necrosis factor-a, which are proinflammatory cytokines, in the blood cells of the FLD-fed piglets were lower than those of the NFLD-fed piglets ( P , 0.05). In conclusion, the FLD used in this study could alter the immune responses of weaning piglets by stimulation of the systemic or mucosal antibody response, without unnecessary inflammatory reactions. This indicates, that the FLD feed prepared with the use of LQ80 may be a candidate feed, with regard to enhancing immune responses and preventing diseases in weaning piglets.