Effects of adding cracked corn to a pelleted supplement for nursery and finishing pigs (2011)

Authors

C B. Paulk
Adam C. Fahrenholz
J M. Wilson
D D. Cook
Leland J. McKinney
J C. Ebert
J J. Ohlde
Jerome C. Nietfeld
Joe D. Hancock
Keith C. Behnke

Keywords

Swine Day, 2011; Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station contribution; no. 12-064-S; Report of progress (Kansas State University. Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service); 1056; Swine; Corn; Cracked corn; Feeding processing; Pelleting; Nursery pig; Finishing pig

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of supplementing cracked corn into diets of nursery and finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, 144 pigs were used in a 28-d trial. Pigs (PIC TR4 × 1050; initially 16.5 lb) were weaned and allotted with 6 pigs per pen (3 barrows and 3 gilts) and 6 pens per treatment. All pigs were fed a common diet for 7 d postweaning and the experimental diets for the next 28 d. Treatments were corn-soybean meal-based in the form of mash, pellets, and pellets with 100% of the corn either ground (618 μm) or cracked (3,444 μm) and blended into the diet after the rest of the formulation (the supplement) had been pelleted. Overall (d 0 to 28), ADG and F/G improved when pigs were fed the mash control compared to the pelleted diets (P<0.001); however, this response was caused by the poor performance of pigs fed the supplement treatments, with the pigs fed the complete pellets having improved (P<0.01) ADG and F/G compared with pigs fed the pelleted supplement blended with ground and cracked corn. Finally, pigs fed the supplement blended with cracked corn had numerically lower (P<0.11) ADG and poorer (P<0.001) F/G compared to those fed the supplement blended with ground corn. In Exp. 2, 224 nursery pigs (initially 16.3 lb) were used with 7 barrows or 7 gilts per pen and 8 pens per treatment. Treatments were corn-soybean meal-based and fed as mash, pellets, and pellets with 50% of the corn either ground (445 μm) or cracked (2,142 μm) and blended with the pelleted supplement. Pigs fed mash had improved (P<0.03) ADG and F/G compared with pigs fed the other treatments; however, this resulted from adding ground or cracked corn outside the pellets (complete pellets vs. pelleted supplement with corn, P<0.01). In Exp. 3, 252 finishing pigs (initially 88.2 lb) were used with 7 pigs per pen and 9 pens per treatment. The treatments were the same as Exp. 2. Pigs fed mash had lower (P<0.004) ADG compared with pigs fed diets with pellets. Pigs fed complete pellets had improved (P<0.03) ADG and F/G compared with pigs fed corn and the pelleted supplement. Also, pigs fed the supplement blended with cracked corn had greater (P<0.02) ADG than pigs fed the supplement blended with ground corn. Pelleting the diet led to an increase (P<0.05) in ulceration scores; however, these negative effects on ulcer scores were reduced (P<0.001) by cracking 50% of the corn and adding it postpellet.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 17, 2011

Recommended Citation

Paulk, C B.; Fahrenholz, Adam C.; Wilson, J M.; Cook, D D.; McKinney, Leland J.; Ebert, J C.; Ohlde, J J.; Nietfeld, Jerome C.; Hancock, Joe D.; and Behnke, Keith C. (2011) "Effects of adding cracked corn to a pelleted supplement for nursery and finishing pigs (2011)," Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports: Vol. 0: Iss. 10. https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5977.7114