eFeedLink - Goal: Improve the homogeneity in your feedlots

Goal: Improve the homogeneity in your feedlots

Pablo Conde Martínez et al., Produmix, S.A.

Introduction

Due to the great demands imposed by such a globalized market as the one involving the pig sector, the goal of every livestock company is to make their production as profitable as possible, in addition to being competent on the market. In order to comply with this premise, a key objective is to decrease every production cost and to maximize animal price at entry to the slaughterhouse. To achieve this latter goal, it is really important to produce highly homogenous animals, thus preventing the associated penalties for carrying animals out of the weight range established by the slaughter. Thus, Lumbreras, J (2013) calculated a difference of €6/pig between feedlot properly done or badly done loads.

However, the generalized use of hyperprolific lines and the decrease in space allocation per piglet in the transition stage, among other factors increasing pig weight spread, has led to a higher occupation rate in feedlots and to an increase in the time needed to empty them, making the farmer less competitive.

As exposed by Vela, A (2015), initial piglet weight has an amplifying effect on later stages (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Amplifying effect of weight spread.

	PERCENTAGE							DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERCENTILE 10 AND 90
STAGE	5	10	25	50	75	90	95
Birth	0.83	1.01	1.22	1.38	1.51	1.74	1.91	0.73
Weaning	4.13	5.06	5.31	5.81	6.11	6.76	6.86	1.7
Transition	18.82	21.19	21.91	23.03	24.64	25.92	26.46	4.73

A. Vela 2015

The increase in weight spread with age is related to variation in piglet growth curves according to their birth weight (Figure 2). Thus, smaller pigs may take up to 40 days more than larger pigs to achieve the target weight at entry to the slaughterhouse. That causes considerable losses, either because of an increase in feedlot occupation times in order to reach the target weight, or because of the penalties at the slaughterhouse due to the lack of homogeneity in the animals loaded caused by an early emptying of the feedlot so that new piglets can be received.

Figure 2. Piglet weight variability from birth to slaughter (López Vergé and Sola-Oriol, 2015).

The coefficient of variation can be reduced through several strategies either in transition or in fattening stages. Thus, loads at the slaughterhouse can be eased, and farm profits can be increased.

After more than 3 years of research by Produmix R&D&I team, in own and external commercial facilities, an optimal feeding program for piglets has been developed. This program maximizes the growth potential of bigger piglets and increases the growth of smaller piglets in contrast to common nutrition plans, thus decreasing piglet weight spread at their entry to the feedlot (Figure 3). This objective is achieved with no increase in production costs, simply through the appropriate selection and use of additives.

Figure 3. Coefficient of variation evolution in transition stage (Conde, P. ; Miranda, S. Anaporc Nov 2015).

The purpose of this experiment was to test whether the improvement in homogeneity during transition stage provided by the Produmix feeding program was maintained during fattening stage.

Materials and Methods

The experiment used 200 female piglets, from the weaning of a farm of 800 sows, which were labeled and weighed individually. That weaning had a prolificacy of 11.96 piglets/sow and an average lactation period of 25.3 days.

Those 200 piglets were separated into two groups. Group A (PRODUMIX feeding program) and Group B (Control: farm common operation). Piglets from each group were separated into 6 pens by weaning weight in order to carry out a different management in transition stage according to that weight (Table 1).

After transition stage (Table 2, from 42d post-weaning), both groups received the same common feeding program of the farm: growth feed (100 kg/animal) and fattening feed (until the end of the test). Nutritional values of both feeds are described in Table 3.

Table 1. Feed management during transition stage in both groups.

MANAGEMENT	INITIATOR	PRE-STARTER	STARTER
Piglets up to 5kg	1.5kg	5kg	Until 42 d post-weaning
Piglets between 5 and 6.5kg	0.8kg	4kg	Until 42 d post-weaning
Piglets of more than 6.5kg	0.2kg	3.5kg	Until 42 d post-weaning

Table 2. Nutritional composition of transition stage feeds.

	Initiator		Pre-starter		Starter
	Produmix	Competition	Produmix	Competition	Produmix	Competition
EN (Kcal)	2700	2650	2480	2470	2470	2450
CP (%)	19.5	19	18.6	18.5	18.3	18.3
CF(%)	2.5	2.55	2.8	2.85	3.3	3.3
EE (%)	7.5	7	6.2	6	5.6	5.4
Lactose (%)	14.5	13.7	4	3.5	0.88	0.88
Dig Lys (%)	1.35	1.3	1.26	1.22	1.15	1.12
Dig Met (%)	0.52	0.5	0.43	0.41	0.39	0.37

Table 3. Nutritional composition of growth and fattening feeds.

	GROWTH	FATTENING
EN (Kcal)	2453	2453
CP (%)	16.5	15.55
CF (%)	4.5	4.5
EE(%)	5.1	4.8
Dig Lys (%)	0.85	0.72
Dig Met (%)	0.26	0.22

Animals were weighed individually at 42, 100 and 130 days post-weaning, and feed consumption in each pen was also measured. (Picture 1).

Picture 1. Facilities and work material.

Results

Table 4. shows general results of the experiment. Piglets fed with Produmix feed during transition stage gain 2.04 kg/pig more than the competition at 130d post-weaning, with a very similar nutritional cost of replaced kg (Picture 2).

Table 4. Total results of the experiment.

	PRODUMIX	COMPETITION	DIFFERENCE	Significance^a
No. INITIAL ANIMALS	100	100
WEANING WEIGHT/PIGLET	5.86	5.9	-0.04	NS
WEIGHT 42D POST-WEANING	21.53	21.1	0.43	0.009
WEIGHT 100D POST-WEANING	71.47	70.7	0.77	0.005
WEIGHT 130D POST-WEANING	97.22	95.46	1.77	< 0.001
CASUALTIES (%)	1	1
TOTAL ADG (g/d)^b	652.62	639.71	12.9	< 0.001
TOTAL FCR	2.29	2.35	-0.06
NUTRITIONAL COST (€/kg)	0.598	0.609	-0.011

^a Subtracting block effect of initial weight (<5 kg, 5-6 kg y <6,5 kg). NS means no significance (p >0.05)

^b Finding a higher effect on ADG 0-42d, of Produmix fed consumption, in piglets of group (<5 kg initial BW).

These results confirm that an optimal feeding in transition stage improves digestive preparation, increasing the homogeneity of the batch of animals. In addition, it should be noted that this homogeneity remains during fattening stage (Table 5 and Figure 4), being related to a faster growth speed of the whole batch in the feedlot (Picture 2).

Picture 2. Pigs in feedlot.

Table 5. Weight/pig in different stages according to their weight at weaning.

	PRODUMIX
	No.	WEANING	No.	42d	No.	100d	No.	130d
	No.	WEANING	No.	POST-WEANING	No.	POST-WEANING	No.	POST-WEANING
<5kg	15	4.376	15	17.543	14	66.485	14	91.028
5-6.5kg	68	5.843	68	21.601	68	71.438	68	97.363
>6.5kg	17	7.23	17	24.777	17	75.7	17	101.776
MEAN	100	5.86	100	21.53	99	71.47	99	97.22
C.V.		16.1		11.2		4.6		4.4

	COMPETITION
	No.	WEANING	No.	42d	No.	100d	No.	130d
	No.	WEANING	No.	POST-WEANING	No.	POST-WEANING	No.	POST-WEANING
<5kg	15	4.407	15	16.438	14	64.421	14	85.857
5-6.5kg	67	5.887	67	21.131	67	70.618	67	95.748
>6.5kg	18	7.181	18	24.892	18	75.878	18	101.844
MEAN	100	5.9	100	21.1	99	70.7	99	95.46
C.V		15.6		13.2		6		6.5

Coefficient of variation is calculated regarding individual animal weights

Figure 4. Evolution of weights spread.

As observed in Figure 5, batches of pigs fed with Produmix during transition stage show lower coefficient of variation, and thus higher homogeneity during animal growth and fattening. In the same way, Figure 6 shows that the decrease in weight variability of piglets fed with Produmix is mainly due to the fact that piglets smaller than 5 kg and those between 5-6.5 kg showed higher growth than the competition during transition stage and following fattening stage.

Figure 5. Coefficients of variation of both groups throughout the experiment.

Figure 6. Effect on average daily gain from 0 to 42 days post-weaning in three groups of weight.

Discussion

Through a customized feeding program for each farm and a synergic combination of additives, Produmix is able to increase homogeneity of batches of weaned piglets during transition stage. As a consequence, that increase in homogeneity also allows a further decrease in weight spread during the productive stage of pigs in the feedlot.

Thus, companies can reduce the length of stay in the feedlot, optimize loads and reduce the considerable losses caused by penalties for animals above or below the target weight. The extent to which each company structure will be able to do it will depend on whether they have own or integrated feedlots. In the latter case, it will depend on whether they pay per animal released of the feedlot or per place per month.

Produmix and its R&D&I team will continue researching on improving homogeneity through the development of high-quality feeding programs in the piglet stage, which allow to reduce weight variability in fattening stage. Considering that new genetics will increase prolificacy, it is becoming more and more necessary to improve piglet feeding in order to reduce the birth weight spread and weaning weight spread, which increase costs in feedlots when loaded to the slaughterhouse.

For more of the article, please click here.

Article made possible through the contribution of Pablo Conde Martínez et al. and Produmix, S.A.

SpoutINFO

Livestock & Feed Business

Campaign & Library

e-Conference & Video

Review & Upcoming

eNewsletter

About Us

Subscription

Inquiry