Viability of Brazilian distillers dried grains with solubles for pigs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance, carcass, meat and economic viability characteristics of pigs fed Brazilian coproducts of corn ethanol production. A total of 40 finishing pigs were subjected to four levels of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS; 0, 100, 200, or 300 g kg-1) for 28 days, and body weight, daily feed intake, daily weight gain and feed conversion were measured. After slaughter, the carcass yield, fat thickness, loin eye area, the depth and perimeter of the loin eye, and the pH and temperature at 45 min and 24 h post-mortem, along with the drip loss and color of the Longissimus lumborum were evaluated. The economic viability of the diets was calculated. The inclusion of DDGS showed a quadratic effect on daily feed intake over 0-14 days. Pigs fed with 300 g kg-1 of DDGS showed worse feed conversion than those fed the control diet over 0-7, 0-14 and 0-21 days. The a* color parameter of the meat decreased linearly with increasing DDGS concentration but the other carcass and meat characteristics were not affected. Inclusion of 184.1 g kg-1 of DDGS showed the best economic viability, considering the cost of weight gain. DDGS may be included in pig diets up to 200 g kg-1 without affecting the performance or carcass and meat characteristics, while 300 g kg-1 compromises feed conversion.