Marshall

Feed preference of weanling pigs fed diets containing extruded corn ground to different particle sizes

Extrusion results in increased digestibility of energy, which is primarily due to increased gelatinization of starch. Because this process improves flavor of cereal grains, it is known that extrusion improves palatability in pig diets. Particle size reduction in cereal grains results in an improved digestibility of nutrients due to increased surface area of grains, which subsequently increases the interaction with digestive enzymes. However, because grinding changes the textural traits of grains, the palatability of feeds is low and thus feed intake of pigs is often reduced.

The feed preference of pigs may be influenced by the characteristics of feed ingredients included in diets, but it is not known if different particle size of extruded corn affects the feed preference of weanling pigs. Therefore, the objective was to test the null hypothesis that there were no effects of reducing particle size of extruded corn on feed preference by weanling pigs.

Keywords: 
Corn, Extrusion, Feed intake, Particle size, Preference
Authors: 
Marshall, Lee, Stein
Publication Type: 
Research Reports

Interactive effects of reducing particle size and extrusion on energy digestibility and concentrations of digestible energy and metabolizable energy in corn fed to young pigs

Particle size reduction in cereal grains often results in an improved digestibility of starch due to increased surface area of grains, which subsequently increases the interaction with digestive enzymes. Improvement in the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE) upon particle size reduction has also been demonstrated in corn and a number of other ingredients when fed to weanling or growing-finishing pigs.

Keywords: 
Corn, Digestibility, Energy, Extrusion, Particle size
Authors: 
Marshall, Lee, Stein
Publication Type: 
Research Reports