Effect of liquid to feed ratio, steeping time and enzyme supplementation on the performance of weaner pigs

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effect of liquid to feed ratio, steeping time, and enzyme supplementation on performance of weaner pigs. In Expt 1, 40 male weaner pigs (weaned at 27 days of age) were randomly allocated to 4 treatments, including a dry control and 3 liquid diets of differing liquid: feed ratios (2 : 1, 3 : 1, and 4 : 1). Pigs were fed individually. Bodyweight was measured weekly and feed intake measured daily. The results confirmed the advantage of liquid feeding but indicated that liquid: feed ratio had very little effect on performance of weaner pigs. Whereas the digestible energy (DE) content of the 2 : 1 and 3 : 1 diets was similar to the control diet, the DE content of the 4 : 1 diet was significantly lower, possibly due to the removal of the insoluble marker (long chain hydrocarbon) by the amount of water in the diet.In Expt 2, the effect of a xylanase and steeping time on pig performance was assessed in a 2 × 2 factorial design (2 steeping times, 1 h v. 15 h; enzyme addition, + v. –). Sixty male weaner pigs (weaned at 27 days of age) were randomly allocated to 4 treatments and fed individually for 3 weeks. Bodyweight was measured weekly and feed intake measured daily. The experiment revealed that both steeping and enzyme addition increased feed intake (P < 0.01) and growth rate (P < 0.05), suggesting that both techniques influence the non-starch polysaccharide composition of the wheat-based diet. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) tended to be improved more by steeping than by enzyme addition (P = 0.06). The results would suggest that steeping improves FCR by allowing increased hydration of feed and subsequent activation of the endogenous enzymes present naturally in grains.The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that the water: solid feed ratio would affect nutrient availability to weaner pigs fed liquid diets.