Objectives of this experiment were to: 1) determine appropriate test length, timing, and repeatability of DMI, ADG, and efficiency over different biological time points; 2) determine the efficacy of using decoupled performance and intake data to generate accurate feed efficiency measures; and 3) determine the relationship between forage-and grain-feed efficiency measures. Over 2 yr, Charolais c...

Two experiments were conducted to determine the efficacy of mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) fed at two levels of Cu on growth and feed efficiency of weanling and growing-finishing pigs, as well as the effect on the immunocompetence of weanling pigs. In Exp. 1, 216 barrows (6 kg of BW and 18 d of age) were penned in groups of six (9 pens/treatment). Dietary treatments were arranged as a 2 x 2 fact...

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of increasing dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS) on growth performance and palatability in growing-finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, a total of 1,050 pigs (initially 104.9 lb) were used in a 28-d study in May 2002. Pigs were fed diets with either 0 or 15% DDGS and 0, 3, or 6% added fat, for a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. Overall, the...

Two experiments involving 115 pigs were conducted to assess the efficacy of a microbial phytase (Allzyme Phytase; Alltech, Nicholasville, KY) produced by Aspergillus niger in low-P, corn-soybean meal-based diets. The phytase supplement contained 50 phytase units/g and 1.43% P. In Exp. 1, growing-finishing pigs were fed fortified corn-soybean meal diets formulated to be adequate (.50%) or inadeq...

Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) may be included in diets fed to pigs in all phases of production. The concentrations of DE and ME in DDGS are similar to those in corn. Phosphorus in DDGS is highly digestible to pigs and apparent total tract digestibility values of approximately 60% have been reported. The concentration of starch in DDGS is low (i.e., between 3 and 11%), but the con...

Two nutrient balance trials were conducted to determine the digestibility of energy, nitrogen, and phosphorus of Minnesota-South Dakota (MNSD) produced distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in grower and finisher diets. Sixteen pigs weighing 28.6 ± 2.2 kg in Exp. 1 and 16 pigs weighing 84.4 ± 6.2 kg in Exp. 2, were randomly assigned to one of four corn-soybean meal based dietary treatme...

In 2 simultaneous experiments (Exp. 1 and Exp. 2), the effects of benzoic acid (BA) and phytase (Phy) in low-P diets on bone metabolism, bone composition, and bone stability in growing and growing-finishing pigs were examined. Experiment 1 was conducted with 16 crossbred gilts in the BW range of 25 to 66 kg of BW, whereas in Exp. 2, 32 crossbred gilts (25 to 108 kg of BW) were used. All pigs we...