Effects of inclusion of sorghum distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in diets for growing and finishing pigs

Abstract

The effects of sorghum distillers dried grains with solubles (sorghum-DDGS) in growing pig diets on growth performance and carcass quality were investigated. A total of 204 animals of 13.9±2.60 kg body weight (BW) were allocated into two dietary treatments, a conventional diet (C) and a diet containing sorghum-DDGS (DDGS). DDGS inclusion levels used were 150 g kg-1 in pigs from 14-40 kg BW, 300 g kg-1 from 40-80 kg BW and 350 g kg-1 from 80 kg BW to slaughter. Animals’ body weight, feed intake, backfat thickness (BF) and loin depth (LD) were measured throughout the study. Protein, fibre and fat content of sorghum-DDGS were approximately three times-fold those of the whole grain. During the nursery period, feed intake and final BW tended to be lower in the group of pigs fed DDGS compared to the piglets fed C diet (871.4 g d-1 and 30 kg vs 951.1 g d-1 and 31 kg). During the growing period no differences were found on growth performance between treatments. Pigs fed sorghum-DDGS showed higher BF than pigs fed C diet (10.96 mm vs 9.80 mm, p<0.001). No differences were found on LD and carcass weight and yield between treatments. Thus, although 150 g kg-1 of sorghum-DDGS in nursery diets tended to reduce growth performance, inclusion rates up to 300-350 g kg-1 during the finishing phase did not affect it, but led to fatter carcasses.