Effect of cleaning corn on mycotoxin concentration and nursery pig growth performance

Mycotoxins are naturally-produced hazards that result from molds grown on cereal grains and other commodities. These molds may produce carcinogenic mycotoxins, which can be harmful to humans and animals. Removing broken kernels has been demonstrated to reduce mycotoxin concentration, but with high variability. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to quantify the magnitude of natural mycotoxin concentration that may be reduced by cleaning corn. Two loads of corn that were naturally contaminated with mycotoxins were procured. Corn for Experiment 1 was contaminated with aflatoxin (1,074 parts per billion; ppb), fumonisin (8.3 parts per million; ppm), and ochratoxin A (206 ppb), while corn for Experiment 2 was contaminated with only fumonisin (5.5 ppm). Corn was cleaned by mechanical sieving. For each experiment, corn was divided into twenty 150 kg runs. Runs were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental treatments: 1) no screen 2) 12.7 mm screen, 3) 4.8 mm screen, and 4) 12.7 + 4.8-mm screen. The corn cleaner was sanitized between runs. Three 5 kg corn samples were collected from each run, and analyzed for mycotoxin concentration. In Experiment 1, cleaning reduced (P < 0.05) aflatoxin and fumonisin concentration by an average of 26% and 45%, respectively, compared to the original uncleaned corn level, but did not impact (P > 0.10) ochratoxin A. The resultant screenings had nearly 4 times the aflatoxin (4,224 ppb) and 7.5 times the fumonisin concentration (60.4 ppm) as the uncleaned corn. In Experiment 2, cleaning reduced (P < 0.05) fumonisin concentration by 32%. The resultant screenings had 19.6 times the fumonisin concentration (65.4 ppm) as the uncleaned corn. To determine the effect that cleaning corn may have on nursery pig growth performance, 360 nursery pigs were used in Experiment 3 to evaluate the impact of cleaning or pelleting on growth performance. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial with corn type (uncleaned vs. cleaned) and feed form (mash vs. pelleted from either mill A or B). Neither cleaning corn nor pellet mill type affected (P > 0.19) nursery pig growth performance. Pelleting improved (P < 0.0001) gain to feed ratio (G:F) by 7.6% compared to mash diets. These data suggest that cleaning is an effective method to legally reduce aflatoxin and fumonisin concentration, but does not impact animal growth performance. Screenings should be used cautiously when feeding to animals.

Influence of Enogen Feed corn and conventional yellow dent corn in pelleted or meal-based diets on finishing pig performance and carcass characteristics

Genetic modification of corn has enhanced the use of different corn hybrids in animal agriculture. Enogen Feed corn, developed by Syngenta Seeds (Downers Grove, IL), has potential for use in livestock diets due to increase α-amylase enzyme in the corn thus improving starch digestibility. In addition, the pelleting process also increases starch gelatinization which increases its digestibility by the pig, increasing growth rate and improving feed efficiency. Therefore, pelleting Enogen Feed corn might prove to provide a greater response in growth performance than conventional yellow dent corn. Thus, the objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of corn source and diet form on growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing pigs. A total of 288 pigs (53.0 ± 0.5 kg) were used with 8 pigs per pen and 9 pens per treatment in a 72-d study. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of corn source (Enogen Feed corn or conventional yellow dent corn) and diet form (meal or pellet). For overall (d 0 to 72) performance, no interactions between corn source and diet form were observed. There was a tendency (P < 0.10) for slightly improved average daily gain (ADG) and gain:feed ratio (G:F) for pigs fed conventional yellow dent corn compared to those fed Enogen Feed corn. For feed form, pigs fed pelleted diets had increased (P < 0.001) ADG and G:F compared to pigs fed meal diets. For carcass characteristics, pigs fed pelleted diets had increased hot carcass weight compared to pigs fed meal diets (P < 0.001). In summary, feeding pelleted diets to finishing pigs increased ADG and improved feed efficiency compared to those fed meal-based diets. There were no major differences between observed corn sources or interactions between corn source and diet form on growth performance.

199 Effect of the Pelleting Process on Diet Formulations with Varying Levels of Crystalline Amino Acids and Reducing Sugars on Digestibility in Growing Pigs

The objective of this study was to determine effects of pelleting on the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in diets with or without increased concentrations of free AA and reducing sugars (RS). Eight individually housed, ileal cannulated barrows (initially 69.2 kg) were allotted to a replicated 8×8 Latin square with 8 diets and eight 7-d periods with ileal digesta collected on d 6 and 7. Treatments were arranged in a 2×2×2 factorial with main effects of diet form (mash vs. pellet), crystalline AA (low vs. high), or reducing sugars (low vs. high) provided by dried distillers grains with solubles and bakery meal. Diets were pelleted to achieve a hot pellet temperature of 85 to 88°C. Data were analyzed as a completely randomized Latin square using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. A feed form×RS interaction (P < 0.026) for SID of tryptophan was observed. Feeding pelleted low RS diets improved SID of tryptophan compared with mash high and low RS diets, and pelleted high RS diets. For main effects of feed form, the SID of total AA, CP, and indispensable AA increased (P < 0.042) in pigs fed pelleted diets compared with mash diets. For main effects of crystalline AA, pigs fed high crystalline AA had increased (P = 0.007) SID of tryptophan and decreased (P = 0.050) SID of histidine compared with those fed low crystalline AA diets. For main effects of RS diets, pigs fed high RS diets had decreased (P < 0.05) SID of total AA, CP and indispensable AA. In conclusion, pelleting diets with increased crystalline AA or RS did not affect the improvement in AA digestibility from pelleting. Pelleting diets improved AA digestibility. Diets formulated with high crystalline AA had increased SID of tryptophan. Formulating diets with high RS resulted in decreased AA digestibility compared with corn-soybean meal-based diets.

PSIII-15 Effect of the Pelleting Process on Diet Formulations with Varying Levels of Crystalline AA and Reducing Sugars on Nursery Pig Growth Performance

A total of 360 pigs (DNA 200×400; initially 11.3 kg) were used in an 18-d study to determine the effect of pelleting diets with or without increased concentrations of free amino acids (AA) and reducing sugars (RS) on pig growth performance. There were 9 replications/treatment and 5 pigs/pen. Treatments were arranged in a 2×2×2 factorial with main effects of diet form (mash vs. pellet), crystalline AA (low vs. high), and RS (low vs. high) provided by dried distillers grain with solubles and bakery meal included at 20% and 15%, respectively. Diets were pelleted to achieve a conditioning temperature of 86.7°C using a 22.4 kW pellet mill equipped with a 4.7 x 34.9-mm die. Data were analyzed as a CRD using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. There were no 3-way interactions observed. For the main effect of feed form, ADFI decreased (P=0.001) and G:F and caloric efficiency improved (P=0.001) in pigs fed pelleted diets compared to mash diets. For the main effect of crystalline AA, pigs fed diets with high crystalline AA had increased (P< 0.024) ADFI compared to those fed diets with low crystalline AA. For the main effect of RS, pigs fed high RS diets had decreased (P< 0.041) ADG, ADFI, G:F, and caloric efficiency compared to those fed low RS. In conclusion, there was no evidence of interactions between treatments, indicating that increasing amounts of crystalline AA and RS did not influence the response to pelleted diets. Pigs fed the high RS diets had reduced feed intake which resulted in reduced gain and improved feed and caloric efficiency.

Effect of the Pellet and Mash Feed Forms on the Productive Performance, Egg Quality, Nutrient Metabolism, and Intestinal Morphology of Two Laying Hen Breeds

One of the most important factors that determine feed utilization by chickens is the feed form. Although it is generally believed that pellet diets have a positive effect on chicken growth, there are some studies that have indicated no difference between pellet and mash on chickens performance. This study was conducted to assess the effects of feed form on production performance, egg quality, nutrient metabolism and intestinal morphology in two breed laying hens. Two hundred and sixteen 25-week-old Hy-Line brown (n = 108) and Hy-Line grey (n = 108) hens were selected. Each breed was randomly allocated into two treatments with 6 replications (9 birds in each replication), which were fed mash and pellet diets, respectively. Production performances were recorded daily and egg quality traits were measured every two weeks. At 42 weeks of age, one bird per replication from each experimental group was selected for metabolism determination and intestine morphology observation. Compared with mash diets, pellet diets improved laying rate (p < 0.05), ADFI (average daily feed intake, p < 0.05), egg weight, shell strength, yolk proportion and Haugh unit (p < 0.05) in both breeds and reduced the FCR (feed conversion ratio, p < 0.05) in Hy-Line grey. The apparent digestibility of DM% (dry matter) and CP% (crude protein) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in both breed laying hens fed pellet than those fed mash. The apparent digestibility of P% (phosphorus) and Ca% (calcium) was higher in Hy-Line grey fed pellet and was higher in Hy-Line brown fed mash. Compared to mash diets, pellet diets increased the VH (villus height), CD (crypt depth) and VCR (ratio of villus height to crypt depth) of the small intestine of Hy-Line grey, and increased the VH and CD of duodenum and ileum of Hy-Line brown. Overall, pellet diets improved production performance and nutrition metabolism through positive changes in the laying rate, feed intake, egg albumen quality and apparent digestibility of laying hens. The current findings provided support for the advantages of feeding pellets during the peak egg laying period for the two popular laying hen strains, Hy-Line brown and Hy-Line grey.