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The objectives of this study were (a) to investigate the effect of body weight (BW) on available energy in fibre-rich diets containing two NDF levels; and (b) to evaluate the effect of fibre type and NDF level on AA digestibility. In Exp. 1, barrows (24 at 33.4 ± 1.1 kg; 24 at 86.8 ± 3.3 kg) were randomly allotted to 4 diets containing a high protein basal (HPB), a low protein basal (LPB), 70% HPB + 30% wheat bran (WB) (HPB-WB) and 70% LPB + 30% sunflower meal (SFM) (LPB-SFM). In Exp. 2, barrows (24 at 33.5 ± 1.8 kg; 24 at 87.0 ± 3.8 kg) were randomly allotted to 4 diets containing no SFM with 12% NDF (SFM0LF), no SFM with 16% NDF (SFM0HF), 24% SFM with 12% NDF (SFM24LF) and 24% SFM with 16% NDF (SFM24HF). In Exp. 3, twelve barrows (35.5 ± 3.4 kg) fitted with T-cannulas were allotted to two 6 × 4 Youden square design with 6 diets (4 same diets as in Exp. 2 and 2 nitrogen-free diets). The concentration of DE, ME and ATTD of GE, CP, NDF and ADF in diets was greater (p < .01) when fed to 90 kg pigs compared with 30 kg pigs. The ME in ingredients was not affected by BW. The ATTD of NDF was negatively correlated with the CF (r = -.98; p < .01), ADF (r = -.99; p < .01) and ADL content (r = -.96; p < .01). The ME of diets was negatively correlated with the ATTD of CF (r = -.98; p < .01). The addition of SFM increased the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of Met (p < .05). In conclusion, diets rich in fibre had different nutritional values at different pig weight stages. The AA digestibility depends mainly on chemical composition of diets.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of brown rice particle size on the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy and nutrients in diets fed to pigs at four different stages and determine the optimal particle size (OPS) of brown rice for young pigs and adult sows. Eighteen weanling piglets (initial body weight (BW): 10.2 ± 0.4 kg), 18 growing barrows (initial BW: 35.6 ± 1.5 kg), 24 gestating sows (initial BW: 220 ± 2.8 kg), and 24 lactating sows (initial BW: 208 ± 3.8 kg) were allotted to 1 of 3 or 4 diets based on completely randomized design with six replicates per diet. Within each stage, brown rice-soybean meal diets were formulated, and the only difference among diets was the brown rice used was ground to the specified particle size. Each stage lasted 19 days, including 7 days for cage adaptation, 7 days for diet adaptation, and 5 days for total feces and urine collection. For weanling and growing pigs, the results showed that pigs fed brown rice milled to 600 μm had a greater ATTD of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), and crude protein (CP) than pigs fed brown rice ground to 800 μm. However, there was no improvement in the ATTD of energy and nutrients for pigs fed brown rice milled to 600 μm versus 400 μm. The concentration of nitrogen (N) in feces significantly reduced (p