Nutritional evaluation of wheat 1. Effects of preparation on digestibility of dry matter, energy and nitrogen in pigs

Abstract

SUMMARY1. A split-plot design was used to study apparent digestibility of dry matter, gross energy and nitrogen of a whole grain wheat diet and processed (hammermilled, rolled or hammermilled and then steam-pelleted) wheat diets by eight small (33·9 ± 0·1 kg) and eight large (70±1·7 kg) pigs. Metabolizable energy and nitrogen retention were also studied with the small pigs.2. The processed wheat diets were superior to the whole grain wheat diet in all the parameters measured.3. There were no significant differences between the performance of pigs given the differently processed wheat diets.4. Apparent digestibility of dietary components particularly in the whole wheat diet was significantly higher when diets were given to small pigs than when given to large pigs.