Citric acid and fumaric acid as food additives for early-weaned piglets

1985 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Henry ◽  
D. W. Pickard ◽  
P. E. Hughes

ABSTRACTThe effects of diet acidification on the growth performance of piglets were assessed in two experiments. In the first, 167 piglets were weaned at 10 days of age and penned in litter-mate groups (seven groups per treatment) which were allocated to one of three diets, with either citric acid (30 g/kg; C), fumaric acid (15 g/kg; F) or no additional organic acid (N); pigs were fed ad libitum for 25 days. The rate of live-weight gain was significantly higher for treatment C than for treatments F or N (216 (s.e. 10), 170 (s.e. 7) and 189 (s.e. 6) g/day respectively; P < 0·05). The voluntary food intake on treatment C also tended to be higher than on the other two diets (220 (s.e. 24), 182 (s.e. 18) and 189 (s.e. 7) g/day for treatments C, F and N respectively).In experiment 2, 30 crossbred piglets were penned in single-sex groups of three and weaned at 10 days of age. The same diets were used as in experiment 1 but all three diets were available ad libitum to each group of piglets for 25 days. When dietary choice was allowed, piglets consumed significantly greater quantities of the control diet than of the acidified diets (1381, 1422, 2972 (s.e. 132) g/day for diets C, F and N respectively; P < 0·01). When the relative intake of each diet was correlated with live-weight gain, only diet C showed a significant positive correlation (r = +0·74; P < 0·05). Correlations of F and N intakes with live-weight gain were negative. It is concluded that citric acid (30 g/kg) in the diet of early-weaned piglets promotes live-weight gain, although acidification of the diet may decrease palatability.

1983 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Bryant ◽  
P. Rowlinson ◽  
H. A. M. Van der Steen

ABSTRACTNursing frequency, suckling duration and teat order were recorded in 12 ‘hybrid’ sows and their litters from parturition to weaning at day 42 post partum. Sows and their litters were moved from the farrowing quarters at day 20; half were housed as a group (G) and fed ad libitum with a boar present and the other half were housed individually (S) with no boar present and ration-fed to scale.Some differences occurred in behaviour from day 20. A significantly greater number of false nursing periods, significant synchronization of nursing periods, and a tendency for more long and short nursing intervals occurred in G than S sows and litters. The duration of the preliminary nosing phase and the total nursing period were significantly longer in S than G litters. Teat order scores, indicating consistency of piglet suckling position on the sow, tended to be greater in S than G litters, and there was a fall in the score for G litters in the weeks following grouping. This was associated with a check in live-weight gain.All G sows showed oestrus during lactation, on average 15 days after grouping. There was no incidence of lactational oestrus in the S sows which showed oestrus 5 days after weaning.


1980 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Aston ◽  
J. C. Tayler

ABSTRACT1. Experiment 1. Six treatment groups of one British Friesian and four South Devon × British Friesian bulls, initially 432 kg mean live weight and aged 491 days, were offered individually maize or grass silage ad libitum plus 0, 5 or 10g barley dry matter per kg live weight daily for 80 days. The silages had similar digestible dry matter and estimated metabolizable energy contents but the grass silage contained more ammonia and acetic, propionic and butyric acids. Mean values for groups receiving respectively maize and grass silage diets were for dry-matter intake 17·7, 20·3, 20·4 and 13·0, 16·6, 18·7 g/kg live weight and for live-weight gain 1·00, 1·32, 1·46 and 0·65, 0·98, 1·22kg/day. Significantly more maize than grass silage dry matter was eaten when the silages were given alone and dry-matter intakes, live-weight and carcass gains were greater for maize silage diets. Dry-matter intake, live-weight and carcass gains, efficiency of feed use and carcass quality significantly improved when barley was given.2. Experiment 2. Six groups of five British Friesian bulls, initially 418 kg mean live weight and aged 474 days, were offered individually maize silage ad libitum with either urea or one of two quantities of aqueous ammonia mixed in at the time of feeding, plus 0 or 5 g barley dry matter per kg live weight daily for 90 days. The urea and ammonia-treated silages contained 125, 124 and 148 g crude protein per kg dry matter respectively, with pH values of 3·8, 3·9 and 4·3, and when given alone or with barley mean daily intakes (g dry matter per kg live weight) were 17·1, 18·6 for urea-treated silage diets, and 17·8, 18·8 and 16·9, 19·1 respectively for ammoniatreated silage diets. Live-weight gains were 0·69, 0·94, 0·63, 1·09, 0·64 and 1·07 kg/day. Ammonia treatment had no effect on intake or live-weight gain. Live-weight and carcass gains and carcass quality improved when barley was given.3. The maize silage offered in Experiment 1 contained similar metabolizable energy but more starch than that in Experiment 2 and was used more efficiently for live-weight gain.


1973 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Rutter

SUMMARYTwo experiments involving the sequential slaughter of intensively fattened store lambs were each carried out over a period of 12 weeks. In the first experiment the lambs were offered a concentrate diet ad libitum. In the second experiment they were offered swede turnips ad libitum with a limited amount of concentrates.In each experiment, similar groups of lambs were slaughtered at equal intervals in order to measure progressive changes in live weight, carcass weight and dry-matter intake. Carcass-weight gain as a proportion of live-weight gain was found to be 74% in the first experiment and 86% in the second experiment.


1974 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Levy ◽  
Z. Holzer ◽  
H. Neumark ◽  
S. Amir

SUMMARYIn an experiment with group-fed cattle from 6 months of age to slaughter at 480 kg live weight two levels of feed intake: 1, ad libitum, 2, 85% of ad libitum amount, were combined with two ratios of concentrate to hay: a, 70: 30; b, 30: 70. In two further treatments, 3a and 3b, the cattle were fed diets a or b at 70% of ad libitum from 6 to 10 months and ad libitum thereafter.Daily gain during the first 124 days of the experiment was (in grams) 1293, 983, 1097, 846, 992 and 756, and from the 125th day to slaughter 735, 600, 796, 579, 830 and 714, for treatments la, lb, 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b, respectively. The decline in rate of gain from the first period to the second was inversely related to the level of feed intake and to the percentage of concentrates in the ration in the first period.Daily carcass gain was 582, 393, 532, 350, 531 and 368 g for treatments la, lb, 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b, respectively.The treatments that were switched over from 70% of ad libitum feed intake in the first period to 100% in the second (3a and 3b), exhibited considerable compensatory growth in the second period, but this was not sufficient to be of economic advantage.The overall ME requirement per kg of live-weight gain was inversely related to rate of gain. Of the six treatments, 2a (85% of ad libitum, 70% concentrate) was the most efficient (19·8 Mcal/kg live-weight gain).Animals on the 100% level of feed intake throughout the experiment (treatments la, lb) were significantly fatter than those on the other treatments.


1986 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. D. Johnsson ◽  
I. C. Hart ◽  
A. Turvey

ABSTRACTIn crossbred female lambs reared on a concentrate diet between 8 and 20 weeks of age, a restriction in food intake to 40 g/kg body weight per day decreased live-weight gain (155 g/day) compared with that in control lambs fed ad libitum (284 g/day) and significantly reduced final live weight and the size of the mammary fat pad (P < 0·001). However, restricted lambs at 20 weeks had more total parenchymal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA; 54·7 v. 47·5 mg) occupying a greater mass of mammary fat pad (17·0 v. 13·2 g) than control lambs (P > 0·10). Restricted feeding had little effect on mean plasma growth hormone (GH) concentrations at 12 and 18 weeks of age, but decreased plasma insulin and prolactin concentrations.In lambs fed ad libitum, daily subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of 0·1 mg bovine pituitary GH per kg live weight between 8 and 20 weeks of age significantly increased daily live-weight gain (347 g/day; P < 0·001) and also increased total mammary parenchymal DNA (71·2 mg; P < 0·10) and the mass of fat pad occupied by parenchymal tissue (20·6 g; P < 0·05), compared with the control treatment. Daily s.c. injection of bromocriptine (1 mg/day) had no effect on either body or mammary growth, but tended to reduce the effects of bovine GH when given in combination. Secretory activity was observed in the parenchymal tissue of the eight lambs receiving bovine GH alone, and also in five control lambs and three lambs receiving bromocriptine alone. Three lambs that had attained puberty by 20 weeks of age had the poorest mammary development of their respective treatment groups.Mammary gland development at 20 weeks of age was significantly correlated across treatment means with plasma GH concentrations estimated at 18 weeks of age (r = 0·95; P < 0·05), but no correlations of similar magnitude were found between individuals within treatments at 20 weeks. Strongest correlations were found among 8-week-old lambs, where mammary parenchymal DNA was positively correlated with mean plasma GH (r = 0·62) and the GH:insulin ratio (r = 0·79) and negatively correlated with the prolactin:GH ratio (r = -0·65).


1991 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. V. Tan ◽  
M. J. Bryant

ABSTRACTLive-weight gain responses were investigated using 36 individually penned lambs (mean live weight 35·2 kg) given three sodium hydroxide treated straw-based diets: low-protein, low-rapeseed meal (control) diet; high protein, high-rapeseed meal (HR) diet; or high-protein, fish meal (FM) diet. The diets were formulated to provide 3 or 9 g undegradable nitrogen per kg dry matter (DM) respectively for the diets without or with fish meal. Diets were offered once a day in a 50: 50 forage-to-concentrate ratio in amounts calculated to support maintenance plus 150 g gain and were adjusted weekly according to live weight. Live-weight gain, measured for 7 weeks, was improved by the FM diet only (P < 0·05).The three diets were given also to rumen-fistulated sheep. The FM diet maintained higher rumen ammonia concentrations during most of the day. The FM and HR diets reduced rumen solid particle outflow rate (P < 0·05) and increased the effective degradability of DM and acid-detergent fibre.


1967 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. R. Davies ◽  
J. B. Owen

1. Investigations into possible ways of rearing artificially the lambs surplus to the ewe's capacity are described and the results discussed.2. A ewe-milk replacer with a high fat content was used from 2 days of age until weaning at 11.4 kg live weight. Two levels of milk feeding, restricted and ad libitum, were given in the second year. Significant differences were observed in live weight gain per day, milk consumption per kg live weight gain and solid food intake prior to weaning. Live weight gain and solid food intake in the period immediately after weaning also differed markedly. Sex and birth weight had little effect on performance.3. Food costs were lower on the restricted level of milk feeding than on the ad libitum level.


1983 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Thomas ◽  
R. M. Tetlow ◽  
B. G. Gibbs ◽  
Margaret Gill

ABSTRACT1. The primary growth of perennial ryegrass was cut between 7 and 9 June and ensiled with formic acid at 2·5 1/t. The regrowth was cut on 24 July; part was dried at high temperature (dried grass), the remainder was left to dry in the field (hay). The dried grass (DG) and part of the hay were ground and pelleted, the hay being pelleted alone (PH) or with the addition of formaldehyde at 20 g/kg crude protein (PHF). The remainder of the hay was offered in the chopped form (CH). The four supplements (CH, PH, PHF, DG) were offered at two levels, 6·5 (L) and 130 (H) g dry matter per kg live weight to 54 British Friesian steers (initial live weight, 110 kg) receiving the silage ad libitum.2. The silage had a high pH and a high proportion of the total nitrogen was in the form of ammonia, indicating poor fermentation. The solubility of nitrogen in the supplements was highest (262 g/kg total nitrogen) in CH, progressively less in PH and PHF and lowest (122 g/kg total nitrogen) in DG.3. Total dry-matter intake was highest with DG at the higher level of inclusion. Dry-matter intake was significantly higher for PH and PHF than for CH (P < 0·001). However, intake of digestible energy did not differ between hays. Live-weight gain was increased from a low level of 0·24 kg/day (silage alone) by all supplements, but this effect was greater with DG than with the hays (P < 0·001). Level of supplementation increased live-weight gain from 0·54 to 0·74 kg/day.4. Supplements of dried grass gave higher live-weight gains than did hay made from the same sward. However, the results indicate that supplementation of badly preserved silage with grass hay of good quality can produce acceptable levels of performance of up to 0·70 kg/day in 4-month-old steers. Processing of the hay had little effect on animal performance.


1971 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. R. Ørskov ◽  
C. Fraser ◽  
J. C. Gill ◽  
Elizabeth L. Corse

SUMMARYTwo experiments were conducted to study the effect of type of cereal and time of weaning on the performance and voluntary intake of lambs.In the first experiment 20 early-weaned entire male lambs were given diets ad libitum during the fattening period from 15 to 40 kg live weight. The diets were based on either kibbled maize or rolled barley. A high feed efficiency and growth rate were achieved with both diets and differences between them were not statistically significant. The growth rates were 428 and 430 g/day. The cold carcass weights at 40 kg live weight were 19·0 and 19·9 kg and the conversion ratios of dry matter to live-weight gain were 2·33 and 2·22 for the rolled barley and kibbled maize diets respectively.In the second experiment a comparison was made of the performance of 36 sets of twin lambs, one of each set being weaned at either 6, 13 or 20 weeks of age and the other being left to suck the ewe outdoors. The lambs weaned at 6 weeks had better conversions of dry matter to live-weight gain than lambs weaned at 13 and 20 weeks. The respective conversions of dry matter to live-weight gain were 3·36, 5·64 and 5·52. The lambs weaned at either 13 or 20 weeks had a greater weight at weaning, a greater growth check at weaning and a lower rate of feed intake.


1987 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Milne ◽  
Angela M. Sibbald ◽  
Heather A. McCormack ◽  
A. S. I. Loudon

ABSTRACTThe effects of date of weaning, weaning live weight, autumn grazing management and level and pattern of winter nutrition in relation to summer grazing on the live-weight gain of farmed red deer calves to 16 months of age were tested in three experiments.In experiment 1, the effect of two weaning live weights (37 and 46 kg) in September and two levels of autumn and winter nutrition were examined with 48 calves. In October, live-weight gains were positively related to sward height and herbage mass. The calves lost live weight in November. Compensatory live-weight gains of 28 g/day occurred at summer pasture after the low level of winter nutrition. Weaning live weight had a major influence on live weight at 16 months of age.In experiment 2, the effects of maintenance, ad libitum and intermediate treatments were compared using 50 calves given a complete diet in winter. The intermediate treatment consisted of a maintenance followed by an ad libitum level of feeding. Compensatory live-weight gains of 49 g/day occurred at pasture with the intermediate treatment achieving complete live-weight compensation at 16 months of age.In experiment 3, the effect of two weaning dates (19 September and 14 November) on live-weight gain of calves and on the date of subsequent calving of hinds were compared with 34 lactating hinds. There was no difference in live-weight gain of calves between weaning dates but the subsequent calving date was delayed by 8 days from those hinds weaning in November.A management system is advocated with weaning in September, housing in November after grazing sown swards greater than 6 cm, a pattern of a low followed by a high level of nutrition in winter and the summer grazing of sown swards maintained at 4 to 6 cm.


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