Abstract
SummaryThe effect of a Buttiauxella phytase, in a dose range of 0-1000 FTU/kg in feed, on production performance in growing/finishing pigs fed European type wheat, corn, barley and SBM based diet was determined. Five dietary treatments were tested including a positive control (PC), a negative control (NC) without inorganic P and with reduced Ca (–0.12%) and metabolisable energy content (–0.14 MJ ME/kg) or NC supplemented with Buttiauxella phytase (Axtra® PHY, Danisco Animal Nutrition, DuPont Industrial Biosciences, Marlborough, UK) at 250, 500 or 1000 FTU/kg respectively. A total of 100 pigs (mean initial BW of 30 kg, Topig x Pi, 10 weeks of age) were used, with 20 replicates per treatment (50% gilts and 50% barrows). Pigs were individually housed in pens and randomly allocated on the basis of body weight (BW) and gender to the five treatments. Feed, in mash form, and water were offered ad libitum. Basal diets had an intrinsic phytase level of approximately 300 and 440 FTU/kg in NC grower and NC finisher diets respectively. Mean average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated for the feeding phases of 30–85 kg (grower), 85–125 kg (finisher) on trial and for overall period. During the grower phase, increasing phytase dose resulted in a linear increase in ADG. Phytase inclusion at 250, 500 and 1000 FTU/kg improved ADG by 3.5, 7.2 and 8.1% respectively compared to NC and by 0.8, 4.5 and 5.3% respectively compared to those fed the PC. Performance in the finisher phase, overall period and slaughter parameters were not different between dietary treatments. The data showed that it was beneficial to increase phytase dose up to 1000 FTU/kg in grower pigs up to 85 kg BW. In the finisher phase, in pigs with BW above 85 kg, 500 FTU/kg was sufficient to replace inorganic P and maintain performance and carcass characteristics comparable to pigs fed the PC.
Highlights
Feed cost contributes up to 60–70% of the total production cost in pig farming
During the grower phase, increasing phytase dose from 0 (NC) to 1000 FTU resulted in a linear increase in average daily gain (ADG) and body weight (BW), regardless of gender of the pigs
Pigs fed the negative control (NC) diet had lowest ADG, NC + 500 FTU and NC + 1000 FTU/kg phytase improved (P < 0.05) ADG compared to NC, while positive control (PC) and 250 FTU/kg phytase treatments showed intermediate response on ADG
Summary
Feed cost contributes up to 60–70% of the total production cost in pig farming. Energy and protein are the major cost components in the feed, and phosphorus (P) often accounts for the third most expensive component in pig diets. Due to limited natural resources, inorganic phosphate price has increased drastically in the last 10 years (von Horn and Sartorius, 2009). Phytase enzyme is commonly used at an inclusion level of 500 FTU/kg in grower/finisher pig diets to breakdown phytate and increase phytate P digestibility. Phytase is commonly used in pig feed as a partial replacement of inorganic phosphorus (iP) from monocalcium phosphate (MCP) or dicalcium phosphate (DCP). A total replacement of inorganic phosphorus by phytase will further reduce feed cost and allow further reduction of P excretion to the environment
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