Rate of Food Passage in Swine

Corn and milo rank first and second respectively as the leading feed grains for swine in Nebraska. The research has shown that milo produces gains equal to or better than corn when the amount of protein supplement of the ration containing milo was the same as the ration containing corn. However, usually more feed was required to produce a unit of gain with milo than with corn. Lower digestibility of milo rations has been postulated as one of the factors responsible for the poorer feed efficiency of milo. The increasing amount of research in recent years in swine nutrition shows the need for more basic knowledge of the factors which may influence the digestibility of swine rations. A factor which could influence digestibility, but which has not been studied widely in the past, is the rate at which feedstuffs pass through the gastro-intestinal tract of the pig. Therefore, the purpose of the research reported herein were to determine an effective method for measuring rate of food passage, to detect differences which might exist in the rate of passage for corn and milo rations fed to growing finishing swine, and to determine factors which may influence the passage of food through the alimentary tract of the pigs. Four experiments were conducted with 108 crossbred pigs to determine the rate of passage times of corn and milo rations at protein levels adjusted to produce similar gains. Advisor: Donald B. Hudma