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- Title
Effects of Whole-Plant Corn Silage on Growth Performance, Serum Biochemical Indices, and Fecal Microorganisms in Hezuo Pigs.
- Authors
Yin, Xitong; Wang, Pengfei; Yan, Zunqiang; Yang, Qiaoli; Huang, Xiaoyu; Gun, Shuangbao
- Abstract
Simple Summary: In recent years, with the expansion of pig husbandry, the competition for grain between its use as feedstuffs for animals and as foodstuffs for humans has become increasingly prominent. Traditional feeds such as corn, soybean, and wheat bran are no longer sufficient to meet the growing needs of the pig industry. Consequently, it is imperative to develop novel, unconventional feedstuffs. Whole-plant corn silage has the advantages of high energy, easy digestion, good palatability, aromatic taste, long preservation time, and low cost. In this study, we found that adding the proper amount of whole-plant corn silage to the diet can not only promote the growth of Hezuo pigs, but also replace part of the traditional feed. Whole-plant corn silage has a broad application prospect in the Hezuo pig diet. In this study, we investigated the effects of the dietary inclusion of different proportions of whole-plant corn silage on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes, and intestinal microorganisms in Hezuo pigs. Thirty-two two-month-old Hezuo pigs (body weight: 7.88 ± 0.81 kg) were randomly divided into four groups of eight pigs (half male, half female) each. The control (CON) group received a basal diet, while the three experimental groups were fed the basal diet, part of which had been replaced with 5%, 10%, and 15% whole-plant corn silage, respectively. The experiment lasted for 127 days, including 7 days of pre-testing and 120 days of formal testing. At the end of the experiment, blood and fecal samples were collected. Compared with the CON group, the feed-to-gain ratio was significantly lower in the 10% test group (p < 0.05), whereas the total protein, albumin, triglyceride, and glucose contents were significantly higher (p < 0.05). No significant differences in total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, creatinine, urea, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase were observed among the groups (p > 0.05). The addition of whole-plant corn silage to the diet significantly increased alpha diversity in the pig gut based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The principal coordinate analysis results showed significant clustering of the different groups (p < 0.05). At the phylum level, the addition of whole-plant corn silage to the diet significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the relative abundance of Firmicutes and significantly increased (p < 0.05) that of Bacteroidetes. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Streptococcus significantly decreased (p < 0.05) with increasing silage supplementation levels, whereas species diversity significantly increased (p < 0.05). In conclusion, 10% is the recommended inclusion ratio for whole-plant corn silage in the diets of pigs.
- Subjects
SILAGE; CORN growth; WHEAT bran; HDL cholesterol; LDL cholesterol; SWINE; ASPARTATE aminotransferase
- Publication
Animals (2076-2615), 2024, Vol 14, Issue 5, p662
- ISSN
2076-2615
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/ani14050662