Effects of various additives to enhance growth performance, blood profiles, and reduce malodour emissions in growing pigs

Abstract

Experiment 1 was a feeding trial in which 75 (Landrace ⅹ Yorkshire) ⅹ Duroc pigs with average initial bodyweight (BW) of 26 ± 1 kg were used. It was assigned to three pigs/pen and five pens/treatment. Experiment 2 was a metabolic trial in which 25 (LandraceⅹYorkshire)ⅹDuroc pigs with average initial bodyweight (BW) of 36 ± 1 kg were used. The basal diet consisted of maize (57.71 %), soybean meal (32.45 %), and wheat bran (5 %). Treatments consisted of i) CON (control diet); ii) OE (organic acid + essential oils) (Aviplus-S^®), that is, CON + 0.05 % OE; iii) OC (organic charcoal) (Olga Black^®), that is, CON + 0.1 % OC; iv) AE (anise extracts) (RESQ^®), that is, CON + 0.015 % AE; and v) PB (probiotics) (Bonvital^®), that is, CON + 0.1 % PB. Average daily gain (ADG) and gain/feed ratio (G : F) were significantly higher in the OE and AE groups than in the others. Average daily feed intake (ADFI) for OE, OC, and AE treatments was significantly higher than that for CON and PB treatments. Dry matter (DM) digestibility was significantly higher in AE than CON. Crude protein (CP) was significantly higher in OE, AE, and PB than CON. CON and other treatments did not cause significant differences in blood l-density lipoprotein (LDL), and glucose. NH₃ emissions were significantly lower in all treated groups than in CON. Among the treatments, NH₃ emissions were lowest in OE and AE. H₂S emissions were significantly lower in OE, AE, and PB than in CON. Among the treatments, OE and AE were most effective at reducing H₂S emissions. The emissions of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) showed no significant difference between treatments and CON. In conclusion, this experiment was shown to be more effective on growth performance, malodour emission, blood profiles, and nutrient digestibility in OE and AE than other additives.

Keywords: Digestibility, feed, influence, odour, supplementation, swine