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Report no. 760


Christian Fink Hansen Sussanne Bigum Mortensen
11.10.2006
Feed’s effect on the texture of the gastric content of finishers

Abstract

In pigs, changes in the white part of the stomach are correlated to the texture of the gastric content. A thick gastric content results in fewer gastric changes.

In this trial, the effect of nine different diets was investigated on gastric pH, dry matter percentage and sedimentation. Furthermore, the stomachs were assessed on a scale from 0 to 10 for the degree of gastric changes.

The nine diets were formulated on the basis of a control diet with wheat.

The trial comprised the following groups:

Group 1

Finely ground, heat-treated and pelleted feed

Negative control

Group 2

As group 1, but as coarsely ground meal feed

Positive control

Group 3

As group 1, but access to straw in dispenser

Straw in dispenser

Group 4

As group 1, with addition of approx. 10% cut straw

Cut straw

Group 5

As group 1, with addition of 10% Pectin feed

Pectin

Group 6

As group 1, with addition of 10% Fibremin

Sphagnum

Group 7

As group 1, with addition of 10% Green meal

Green meal

Group 8

As group 1, with addition of 10% oats

Oats

Group 9

As group 1, with addition of 10% Arbocel®

Arbocel®

In each group, two pens of finishers were given the trial diets from approx. 78 kg until slaughter. 20-26 pigs were slaughtered in each group. At the slaughterhouse, the stomachs were taken out and the recordings were subsequently made.

As expected, feeding with coarsely ground meal feed resulted in a thicker gastric content, just as there were significantly fewer pigs with gastric changes in this group.

This trial indicates that it is possible to reduce the occurrence of severe gastric changes in finishers by feeding them coarsely ground meal for 3-5 weeks.

None of the diets resulted in significantly more sediment, more dry matter in the gastric content or a lower gastric index compared with the negative control group given finely ground pelleted feed. However, the pigs given sphagnum had a significantly lower content of dry matter and more pigs had severe gastric changes compared with both the negative control group and the positive control group.
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