58 Feed, feeding levels, and tissue analytics of vitamins: Observations from the field

Abstract

Abstract Targeted vitamin inclusion rates within swine diets are typically at levels 2–7 times that of the known published requirements. These increased rates are mainly looked at as an “insurance policy” since very little vitamin research has been conducted in the last two decades and swine growth rates and reproductive traits have increased substantially during this same time. When production issues such as broken bones, downer animals, or sudden deaths occur, vitamin analysis is commonly done on feed, serum, or tissue samples. This discussion will shed light on observations around vitamin analytics that include variation due concentration within product, lab-to-lab variation, and within lab variation. In addition to discrepancies found in feed, serum and liver sample vitamin analytics do not seem to present a clear picture. Across multiple phases of production, these analysis consistently fall well below what would be considered to be reference values that are reported by diagnostic labs. This occurs not only in sick animals but also in animals that appear to be in perfect health and are consuming adequate levels of feed. In order to determine the impact of vitamin supplementation on performance and serum/tissue vitamin status, five trials across sows, nursery, and grow-finish swine were conducted. The goal of these trials is not to determine the various vitamin requirements, but to begin the conversation in order to help establish new reference values that are applicable to today’s genetics, vitamin supplementation levels, and rearing environments. Hopefully this presentation will lead to further questions and discussions within the industry regarding level of vitamin supplementation and the subsequent impacts on performance and serum/tissue vitamin status.