K-State studies show distillers grains have mixed results on hog growth

DDGS are a byproduct of ethanol manufacturing and their availability for use in swine diets has increased in recent years because of surges in ethanol production, said Joel DeRouchey, K-State Research and Extension livestock production specialist.

In the study conducted on grow-finish hogs, there were three individual experiments, DeRouchey said. Experiment one consisted of 1,050 pigs with an average beginning weight of 104.9 pounds and lasted 28 days. The pigs were fed diets either 0 or 15 percent DDGS and 0, 3, or 6 percent added fat.

In the second experiment, 1,038 pigs with an average weight of 102.1 pounds were divided into groups and fed diets with either 0, 10, 20, or 30 percent DDGS for 56 days.

Experiment three lasted 21 days and used a total of 120 grower pigs with an average initial weight of 48.7 pounds. The pigs were randomly put into different pens, each containing four feeders to determine if pigs would selectively prefer to consume diets with 0, 10, 20 and 30 percent DDGS.

The first experiment showed no improvement in average daily gain (ADG) or the feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) as added fat was increased regardless if DDGS were included in the diet. There was also no difference in growth performance between pigs fed 0 percent or 15 percent DDGS.

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Source: AgProfessional

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