PSIV-B-18 - Performance response of weanling and grower pigs fed graded levels of poultry byproduct meal (PBM) in the diet

Two experiments were conducted to investigate effects of feeding graded levels of PBM on performance of weanling pigs and to evaluate feed preference for PBM-based diets relative to spray-dried plasma protein (SDPP)-based diets. A third experiment evaluated PBM in grower diets on performance. In Exp. 1, 120 pigs [body weight (BW) 7.1 ± 0.6 kg] were randomly allotted to 1 of 5 treatments (0, 1, 2, 3, or 5% PBM) and housed 4 pigs/pen for a 28-d growth trial. In Exp. 2, 60 pigs (BW 6.7 ± 1.4 kg) were randomly allotted to 1 of 3 comparisons including: Comparison 1) 0% PBM vs. 2% PBM, Comparison 2) 0% PBM vs. 2% SDPP, and Comparison 3) 2% PBM vs. 2% SDPP and housed 4 pigs/pen for a 28-d preference trial; pigs were provided ad libitum access to feeders; feeder location was switched 3 times/wk. In Exp. 3, 120 pigs (BW 25.9 ± 2.1 kg) were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 treatments (0, 1.25, 2.5 or 5% PBM) and housed 5 pigs/pen for a 41-d growth trial. Increasing PBM from 0 to 5% in Exp. 1 resulted in no differences in ADG (398, 417, 424, 432, and 428 g) or G:F (0.675, 0.686, 0.733, 0.711, and 0.717). Feed preference results (Exp. 2) demonstrated that pigs consumed a higher percentage (76 vs. 24%, P < 0.01) of their total feed intake from the 2% PBM-based diet compared to the 2% SDPP-based diet (Comparison 3). In Exp. 3, increasing PBM for grower pigs resulted in no differences in ADG (1007, 1025, 1002, and 1025 g) or G:F (0.484, 0.472, 0.484, and 0.478). Thus, feeding PBM up to 5% of the diet had no effect on overall performance of nursery or grower pigs, indicating it is an acceptable option as a feed ingredient.