Evaluation of Barley to Replace Milk Products in Weaning Pig's Diet

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of barley to replace milk products in weaning pig's diet on growth performance, blood profile, nutrient digestibility and diarrhea incidence in weaning pigs. A total of 108 crossbred ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc) piglets were allotted to one of four treatments in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. Each treatment had 7 replications with 4 pigs per pen. Four different levels of barley (0, 10, 20 and 30%) were used as dietary treatments. Whey powder and lactose were not supplemented at phase 3 diet. During 0-2 week, body weight, ADG and G/F ratio were decreased as dietary barley levels increased (linear response, P<0.01). However, no detrimental effects were observed in 3-6 weeks on growth performance. In overall period (0-6 week), all treatments showed no significant difference in body weight and G/F. In digestibility trial, crude fat digestibility was increased linearly as barley increased (linear, P<0.01). When pigs were fed diet without barley showed higher daily nitrogen retention among all treatments (linear, P<0.01) and higher blood urea nitrogen level was observed in this treatment (P<0.01). However, any significant difference was not observed in blood glucose level. Incidence of diarrhea was decreased as dietary barley levels increased (linear, P<0.01). Consequently, although the supplementation of barley influenced negatively on growth performance during 0-2 week, incidence of diarrhea and fat digestibility were improved as barley supplementation level increased.