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Objective: The objective of this study was to determine net energy (NE) of expeller-press (EP-RSM) and solvent-extracted rapeseed meal (SE-RSM) and to establish equations for predicting the NE in rapeseed meal (RSM) fed to growing pigs.Methods: Thirty-six barrows (initial body weight [BW], 41.1±2.2 kg) were allotted into 6 diets comprising a corn-soybean meal basal diet and 5 diets containing 19.50% RSM added at the expense of corn and soybean meal. The experiment had 6 periods and 6 replicate pigs per diet. During each period, the pigs were individually housed in metabolism crates for 16 days which included 7 days for adaption to diets. On day 8, pigs were transferred to respiration chambers and fed their respective diet at 2,000 kJ metabolizable energy (ME)/kg BW0.6/d. Feces and urine were collected, and daily heat production was measured from day 9 to 13. On days 14 and 15, the pigs were fed at 890 kJ ME/kg BW0.6/d and fasted on day 16 for evaluation of fasting heat production (FHP).Results: The FHP of pigs averaged 790 kJ/kg BW0.6/d and was not affected by the diet composition. The NE values were 10.80 and 8.45 MJ/kg DM for EP-RSM and SE-RSM, respectively. The NE value was positively correlated with gross energy (GE), digestible energy (DE), ME, and ether extract (EE). The best fit equation for NE of RSM was NE (MJ/kg DM) = 1.14×DE (MJ/kg DM)+0.46×crude protein (% of DM)–25.24 (n = 8, R2 = 0.96, p2 = 0.77, p = 0.018) may be utilized to quickly determine the NE in RSM when DE or ME values are unavailable.Conclusion: The NE values of EP-RSM and SE-RSM were 10.80 and 8.45 MJ/kg DM. The NE value of RSM can be well predicted based on energy content (GE, DE, and ME) and proximate analysis.

This study was conducted to determine the digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) values and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients in four fibrous ingredients [corn distillers’ dried grains with solubles (DDGS), soybean hull, wheat bran, and corn bran] fed to barrows at three different growth stages. Thirty growing barrows, 30 finishing barrows, and 30 fattening barrows (initial body weights of 29.04, 58.57, and 105.65 kg, respectively) were individually housed in metabolism crates and allotted to one of four test diets or a basal corn–soybean meal diet in a 3 × 5 factorial design. Fecal and urine samples were collected for 5 d after a 12 d adaption period. The DE and ME values and ATTD of gross energy (GE), organic matter (OM), crude protein, and acid detergent fiber (ADF) in wheat bran, as well as the ATTD of GE, OM, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and ADF in corn DDGS, and ATTD of NDF and ADF in soybean hull, were greater (P

This study was conducted to determine the effect of different growing stages on digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) in soybean meal (SBM), cottonseed meal (CSM), rapeseed meal (RSM), corn gluten meal (CGM), and corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) fed to crossbred barrows. Thirty-six growing barrows (GS 1: 29.1 ± 2.85 kg BW), 36 growing barrows (GS 2: 59.2 ± 4.91 kg BW), and 36 finishing barrows (GS 2: 105.4 ± 6.91 kg BW) were allotted to 6 diets in a completely randomized design with 6 replicated pigs per diet per growth stage or BW. Faecal and urine samples were collected for 5 days after a 12-day adaption period. The results showed that the concentration of DE in corn for pigs at GS 3 was greater (P

This study was conducted to determine the optimal adaptation duration of growing pigs to high fiber diets for net energy (NE) determination and the effect of soluble and insoluble fiber on nutrient digestibility and energy metabolism using indirect calorimetry. Eighteen growing barrows (initial BW: 36.1 ± 3.1 kg) were allotted in a completely randomized design to 3 dietary treatments. The 3 experimental diets included a corn-soybean meal basal diet and 2 test diets formulated to contain either 220 g/kg sugar beet pulp or 200 g/kg soybean hulls at the expense of corn, soybean meal and amino acid (AA) in the basal diet. The experiment was conducted in 3 consecutive 28-d periods consisting of a 7-d preliminary period followed by a 21-d heat production (HP) measurement period, and the HP measurement period was artificially divided into 4 adaptation duration (collection periods) of 5 d (from d 8 to d 12, d 13 to d 17, d 18 to d 22, d 23 to d 27) in order to calculate DE, ME and NE values and digestibility coefficients of nutrients within each collection period and pig. Pigs required to be adapted to the three diets for these many days before they could finish the daily feed allowance. Indeed, pigs needed 7, 12 and 10 days finishing eating the basal, sugar beet pulp and soybean hulls diet, respectively. The coefficient of apparent total tract digestibility (CATTD) of dry matter (DM), total dietary fiber (TDF), neutral detergent fiber assayed with a heat stable amylase and expressed inclusive of residual ash (aNDF), ether extract (EE) and organic matter (OM) were not significantly changed with adaptation duration for respective diets. Nitrogen retention was increased (P

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding level and dietary supplementation with crystalline amino acids (AA) on the determination of energy contents in corn for growing pigs. A total of 36 barrows with an average initial body weight of 41.4 ± 2.0 kg were allocated across six treatments in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement that included 2 feeding levels (2400 kJ ME/kg BW0.6 per day or ad libitum) and 3 dietary AA supplementation patterns (corn diet with no AA; corn + 3AA diet with addition of lysine, threonine and tryptophan; corn + 5AA diet with greater levels of crystalline lysine, threonine and tryptophan supplementation than those in corn + 3AA diet plus crystalline methionine and isoleucine supplementation). The experiment was conducted in 6 consecutive periods. During each period, 6 pigs were allotted to 1 of 6 treatments, and each treatment corresponded to 1 of 6 respiration chambers. In each period, pigs were individually housed in metabolism crates and fed their respective diets at two feeding levels for 13 d, including 7 d adaptation to the feed, metabolism crate and environmental conditions. On d 8, the pigs were transferred to respiration chambers. Total feces and urine samples were collected and heat production was measured from d 8 to 12. On the last day of each period, the pigs were fasted for 24 h and fasting heat production was subsequently measured. The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and gross energy (GE) in diets and corn were not affected by feeding level; however, increasing feeding level tended (P = 0.09) to decrease the ATTD of crude protein (CP). Nitrogen retention increased (P

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of increased fiber content in diets on heat production (HP) and NE:ME ratio and to determine the NE content and NE:ME ratio of full-fat rice bran (FFRB), defatted rice bran (DFRB), corn gluten feed (CGF), and corn germ meal (CGM) fed to growing barrows using indirect calorimetry (IC). Thirty growing barrows (28.5 ± 2.4 kg BW) were allotted in a completely randomized design to 5 dietary treatments that included a corn–soybean meal basal diet and 4 experimental diets with a constant ratio of corn and soybean meal (difference method) containing 30% FFRB, DFRB, CGF, and CGF. Pigs were housed in individual metabolism crates for 20 d including 14-d adaptation to the diet and 6 d to determine the HP and total collection of feces and urine in respiration chambers. Pigs were fed their respective diets at 550 kcal ME·kg BW(0.60−1)·d(−1) on the basis of BW measured on days 0, 7, and 14. The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of DM, GE, and OM were greater (P < 0.01) in pigs fed the basal diet. The ATTD of DM, GE, and OM in pigs fed the DFRB diet were lesser (P < 0.01) when compared with those fed the basal and FFRB diets. The ATTD of ether extract (EE) in pigs fed the FFRB diet was greater (P < 0.01) compared with those fed basal, DFRB, CGF, and CGM diets. The HP adjusted for the same ME intake was greater (P < 0.01) in pigs fed the DFRB, CGF, and CGM diets compared with those fed basal and FFRB diets. The NE:ME ratio in pigs fed the FFRB diet was greater (P < 0.01) when compared with those fed the DFRB, CGF, and CGM diets. The NE content of FFRB, DFRB, CGF, and CGM determined using the IC method were 2,952, 1,100, 1,747, and 2,079 kcal/kg DM, respectively. The NE content of FFRB, CGF, and CGM determined using the IC method were 3.5%, 3.8%, and 1.8% greater, respectively, than the predicted values, whereas NE content of DFRB determined using the IC method was 2.1% lower than the predicted values. In conclusion, pigs fed the fiber-rich ingredients had greater HP and lower nutrient digestibility. However, pigs fed FFRB diets containing greater fat content had a lower heat increment and, therefore, higher utilization efficiency. The NE:ME ratio ranged from 71.6% to 82.4%. The NE of FFRB, DFRB, CGF, and CGM determined using the IC method were 2,952, 1,100, 1,747, and 2,079 kcal/kg DM, respectively.

The objective of this experiment was to determine the NE content of different dietary lipids fed to growing pigs using indirect calorimetry. Thirty-six growing (initial BW: 41.1 ± 3.1 kg) barrows were allotted to 6 diets based on completely randomized design with 6 replicate pigs per diet. Diets included a corn-soybean meal basal diet and 5 test diets each containing 10% palm oil, poultry fat, fish oil, corn oil, or flaxseed oil at the expense of corn and soybean meal. During each period, pigs were individually housed in metabolism crates for 14 d, which included 7 d for adaptation to feed, metabolism crates, and environmental conditions. On day 8, pigs were transferred to the open-circuit respiration chambers and fed 1 of the 6 diets at 2.3 MJ ME/kg BW0.6/day. Total feces and urine were collected and daily heat production (HP) was also calculated from day 9 to day 13. On the last day of each period (day 14), pigs were fasted and the fasting heat production (FHP) was measured. The results show that the FHP of pigs averaged 809 kJ/kg BW0.6·day-1 and was not affected by diet characteristics. The DE values were 35.98, 36.84, 37.11, 38.95, and 38.38 MJ/kg DM, the ME values were 35.79, 36.56, 36.92, 37.73, and 38.11 MJ/kg DM, and the NE values were 32.42, 33.21, 33.77, 34.00, and 34.12 MJ/kg DM, for the palm oil, poultry fat, fish oil, corn oil, and flaxseed oil, respectively. Based on our result, we concluded that the DE content of dietary lipid varied from 91% to 98% of its GE content, the ME content of dietary lipid was approximately 99% of its DE content, and the NE content of dietary lipid was approximately 90% of its ME content in growing pigs.

This study was conducted to determine the digestible (DE) and metabolisable energy (ME) content and the coefficient of apparent total tract digestibility (CATTD) of gross energy (GE) in 4 cereal grains (corn, wheat, barley and sorghum) fed to barrows and to quantify the effect of body weight (BW) on the digestibility of the 4 cereal grains. Twenty-four weanling barrows (13.3 ± 0.8 BW, stage 1), 24 growing barrows (31.6 ± 1.5 BW, stage 2), 24 finishing barrows (56.7 ± 1.8 BW, stage 3) and 24 fattening barrows (111 ± 3.8 BW, stage 4) were individually housed in metabolic crates and allotted to 1 of 4 diets with 6 pigs fed each diet at each BW in a completely randomized design. The 4 diets consisted of 973.4 g/kg of a cereal grain and 26.6 g/kg of vitamins and minerals. Faeces and urine samples were collected for 5 d following a 10 d adaptation period. The DE and ME content and the CATTD of GE in corn and wheat were greater (P

Objective: Feed energy required for pigs is first prioritized to meet maintenance costs. Additional energy intake in excess of the energy requirement for maintenance is retained as protein and fat in the body, leading to weight gain. The objective of this study was to estimate the metabolizable energy requirements for maintenance (MEm) by regressing body weight (BW) gain against metabolizable energy intake (MEI) in growing pigs.[br/] Methods: Thirty-six growing pigs (26.3 +/- 1.7 kg) were allotted to 1 of 6 treatments with 6 replicates per treatment in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were 6 feeding levels which were calculated as 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100% of the estimated ad libitum MEI (2,400 kJ/kg BW0.60 d). All pigs were individually housed in metabolism crates for 30 d and weighed every 5 d. Moreover, each pig from each treatment was placed in the open-circuit respiration chambers to measure heat production (HP) and energy retained as protein (REp) and fat (REf) every 5 d. Serum biochemical parameters of pigs were analyzed at the end of the experiment.[br/] Results: The average daily gain (ADG) and HP as well as the REp and REf linearly increased with increasing feed intake (p< 0.010). beta-hydroxybutyrate concentration of serum tended to increase with increasing feed intake (p = 0.080). The regression equations of MEI on ADG were MEI, kJ/kg BW0.60 d = 1.88xADG, g/d+782 (R-2 = 0.86) and MEm was estimated at 782 kJ/kg BW0.60 d. Protein retention of growing pigs would be positive while REf would be negative at this feeding level via regression equations of REp and REf on MEI.[br/] Conclusion: The MEm was estimated at 782 kJ/kg BW0.60 d in current experiment. Furthermore, growing pigs will deposit protein and oxidize fat if provided feed at the estimated maintenance level.

This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of variety and planting year on the nutritive values of corn fed to growing pigs. Four corn varieties examined in this experiment were planted in the same village located in Longhua County, Heibei Province, China, in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. During each year, corn was hand-harvested in early October and sun dried to about 14% moisture content. Three batches of twenty-four barrows (33.27±4.30, 31.88±2.93, 34.21±3.81 kg body wight [BW] in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively) were used and allotted to a complete block design with 4 diets and 6 replicate pigs per diet. Pigs were individually placed in metabolic crates. The four experimental diets were formulated by mixing each variety of corn and vitamins and minerals, respectively. A five-day collection period followed a seven-day diet acclimation period. The results indicated that variety of corn significantly influenced the available energy content (digestible energy [DE] on dry matter basis, p

In the past two decades, a considerable amount of research has focused on the determination of the digestible (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) contents of feed ingredients fed to swine. Compared with the DE and ME systems, the net energy (NE) system is assumed to be the most accurate estimate of the energy actually available to the animal. However, published data pertaining to the measured NE content of ingredients fed to growing pigs are limited. Therefore, the Feed Data Group at the Ministry of Agricultural Feed Industry Centre (MAFIC) located at China Agricultural University has evaluated the NE content of many ingredients using indirect calorimetry. The present review summarizes the NE research works conducted at MAFIC and compares these results with those from other research groups on methodological aspect. These research projects mainly focus on estimating the energy requirements for maintenance and its impact on the determination, prediction, and validation of the NE content of several ingredients fed to swine. The estimation of maintenance energy is affected by methodology, growth stage, and previous feeding level. The fasting heat production method and the curvilinear regression method were used in MAFIC to estimate the NE requirement for maintenance. The NE contents of different feedstuffs were determined using indirect calorimetry through standard experimental procedure in MAFIC. Previously generated NE equations can also be used to predict NE in situations where calorimeters are not available. Although popular, the caloric efficiency is not a generally accepted method to validate the energy content of individual feedstuffs. In the future, more accurate and dynamic NE prediction equations aiming at specific ingredients should be established, and more practical validation approaches need to be developed.

The objectives of this experiment were: (i) to determine the net energy (NE) of soybean oil (SBO) fed to growing pigs using indirect calorimetry (IC); and (ii) to evaluate the effects of inclusion rate of SBO on heat production, oxidative status and nutrient digestibility in growing pigs. Eighteen growing barrows were allotted to three diets based on completely randomized design with six replicate pigs (period) per diet. Diets included a corn-soybean meal basal diet and two test diets containing 5% or 10% SBO at the expense of corn and soybean meal. During each period, pigs were individually housed in metabolism crates for 14 days, including 7 days to adapt to feed, metabolism crate and environmental conditions. On day 8, pigs were transferred to the open-circuit respiration chambers for measurement of daily O2 consumption and CO2 and CH4 production. During this time, pigs were fed one of the three diets at 2.4 MJ metabolizable energy/kg body weight (BW)0.6 /day. Total feces and urine were collected and daily total heat production (THP) was measured from days 9 to 13 and fasted on day 14 to evaluate their fasting heat production (FHP). The results show that trends of decreased apparent total tract digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (linear, P = 0.09) and acid detergent fiber (linear, P = 0.07) were observed as the content of dietary lipids increased. The average THP for the three diets were 1326, 1208 and 1193 kJ/kg BW0.6 /day, respectively. The FHP of pigs averaged 843 kJ/kg BW0.6 /day and was not affected by diet characteristics. A reduction of the respiratory quotients in the fed state as the inclusion level of SBO increased was observed. In conclusion, the NE values of SBO we determined by indirect calorimetry were 33.45 and 34.05 MJ/kg dry matter under two inclusion levels. THP could be largely reduced when SBO is added in the feed, but the THP of SBO included at 5% in a corn-soybean meal diet is not different from the THP of SBO included at 10%.

Background Two experiments were conducted to estimate the net energy (NE) of corn, soybean meal, expeller-pressed rapeseed meal (EP-RSM) and solvent-extracted rapeseed meal (SE-RSM) using indirect calorimetry and to validate the NE of these four ingredients using pig growth performance. Methods In Exp.1, 24 barrows (initial BW = 36.4 ± 1.6 kg) were allotted to 1 of 4 diets which included a corn basal diet, a corn-soybean meal basal diet and two rapeseed meal diets containing 20% EP-RSM (9.5% ether extract) or SE-RSM (1.1% ether extract) substituted for corn and soybean meal. The design allowed the calculation of NE values of corn, soybean meal and rapeseed meals according to the difference method. In Exp.2, 175 growing pigs (initial BW = 36.0 ± 5.2 kg) were fed 1 of 5 diets for 28 d, with five pigs per pen and seven replications (pens) per treatment in order to validate the measured energy values. Diets were a corn-soybean meal diet and four diets including 10% or 20% EP-RSM and 10% or 20% SE-RSM. Results The NE of corn, soybean meal, EP-RSM and SE-RSM were 12.46, 11.34, 11.71 and 8.83 MJ/kg DM, respectively. The NE to ME ratio of corn (78%) was similar to tabular values, however, the NE to ME ratios of soybean meal (70%) and rapeseed meal (76%) were greater than tabular values. The greater NE value in EP-RSM than in SE-RSM is consistent with its higher EE content. Increasing EP-RSM or SE-RSM did not affect the growth performance of pigs and the caloric efficiency of NE was comparable for all diets. Conclusions The NE of EP-RSM was similar to soybean meal, and both were greater than SE-RSM. The DE, ME and NE values measured in Exp.1 are confirmed by results of Exp. 2 with comparable caloric efficiencies of DE, ME or NE for all diets.

Summary This experiment was conducted to determine the optimal standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID Lys) level in diets fed to primiparous sows during gestation. A total of 150 (Landrace × Large White) crossbred gilts (weighing 149.9 ± 3.1 kg) were fed gestation diets (12.55 MJ of ME/kg) containing SID Lys levels of 0.43, 0.52, 0.60, 0.70 or 0.80% respectively. Gilts were fed 2.0 kg/day from day 1 to 80 and 3.0 kg/day from day 80 to 110 of gestation respectively. Gilts were allocated to treatments based on their body weight on the day of breeding. Weight gain from day 80 to 110 increased with increasing dietary SID Lys levels (p = 0.044). Fitted broken-line (p = 0.031) and quadratic plot (p = 0.047) analysis of body weight gain indicated that the optimal SID Lys level for primiparous sows was 0.70 and 0.69% respectively. During gestation, neither backfat thickness nor loin eye area was affected by dietary SID Lys level. Increasing dietary Lys had no effect on the litter size at birth or pigs born alive per litter. Litter weight at birth was not affected by dietary SID Lys level. The litter weight variation at birth quadratically decreased with increasing dietary SID Lys (p = 0.021) and was minimized at 0.70% dietary SID Lys. Gilts fed the 0.70% SID Lys diet had the highest dry matter (p = 0.031) and protein (p = 0.044) content in colostrum. On day 110 of gestation, gilts fed the 0.70% SID Lys diet tended to have the highest serum prolactin (p = 0.085) and serum insulin (p = 0.074) levels. The data demonstrate that the optimal dietary SID Lys was 0.70% for pregnant gilts, which is similar to the recommendation of 0.69% that was estimated by the NRC (2012).