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Report no. 661

Abstract
The aim of this trial was to study the effect of coarsely ground meal feed compared with finely ground pelleted feed.

The aim of this trial was to study the effect of coarsely ground meal feed compared with finely ground pelleted feed on the transit time in the stomach, the physico-chemical properties of the stomach, the survival rate of Salmonella DT12 in the gastric content and on the microbial ecosystem in the gastro-intestinal tract of finishers.

The trial included 302 castrates with an average weight of 30 kg that had unrestricted access to feed and water. When they weighed approx. 80 kg, 30 castrates on each diet (finely ground pelleted feed or coarsely ground meal feed) were housed individually, given approx. 95% of their unrestricted feed intake for 10 or 11 days, and slaughtered –0.5, 0.5, 2, 5, and 8 hours post-feeding, respectively.

Feeding with coarsely ground meal feed gave the gastric content a porridge-like consistency resulting in stratification of the gastric content and establishment of a pH gradient that combined with a prolonged retention time in the stomach made microbial growth possible of especially lactic acid bacteria in the proximal stomach. The increased number of lactic acid bacteria resulted in a higher concentration of organic acids. This reduces the number of entero bacteria, including Salmonella, in the gastric content, which is thereby prevented from colonising other parts of the intestinal system.

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