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The effects of dietary soybean hulls, particle size, and diet form on nursery pig performance

Goehring, D.A
2013

A total of 1,100 nursery pigs (6.8 kg BW) were used in a 42-d study to determine the effect of increasing soybean hulls (10 or 20%) and soybean hull particle size (unground = 671 μ or ground = 398 μ) in nursery pig diets fed in both meal and pelleted form. Pigs were randomly allotted to a 2x2x2 arrangement of treatments with 11 replications per treatment. Several interactions were observed, however it would appear that grinding soybean hulls improved G:F and reduced ADFI in meal diets, but did not change G:F and had less effect on ADFI when pelleted. Grinding soybean hulls slightly improved caloric efficiency in meal diets, but not in pelleted diets. Increasing soybean hulls from 10 to 20% increased ADFI and reduced G:F in meal diets, but were not changed in pelleted diets leading to a greater improvement in caloric efficiency in pelleted diets than meal. Grinding soybean hulls below 617 μ decreased ADG (P<0.01) and ADFI (P<0.08) and tended to reduce final weight (P<0.08). Pelleting provided the expected improvement in ADG and eliminated the negative effect of increasing soybean hulls on G:F.

Goehring, D.A. 2103. The effects of dietary soybean hulls, particle size, and diet form on nursery pig performance. Poster P075. 44Th Midwest Meeting of Am. Dairy Sci. Assn. and Am. Soc. Animal Sci. held in Des Moines, IA. on March 11-13.