Date: 24/01/2024
Raising pigs requires a carefully planned diet to ensure healthy growth, efficient development, and overall animal well-being.
A well-balanced diet is essential for the healthy growth of pigs and for positive results in pork production and economics.
In an article by Embrapa [1], it is mentioned that "modern pork production is becoming more demanding and requires the use of available technologies", to enhance animal diets and reduce the overall cost of pork.
It is important to highlight that nutrition comprises the largest component in the cost of production, requiring special attention from pork producers. This is because they account for 60% to 70% of the investment.
This information emphasizes the importance of carefully selecting food based on suitable metrics for each stage of pork production.
In this context, the weaner stage is the most significant, with specific demands that influence directly the future performance of swine.
Development Stages and Your Specific Demands
The weaner stage is crucial in pork development characterized by significant physical changes and rapid growth.
In this period, swine go through various diets, transitioning from liquid to solid, which requires special attention to the nutritional value of their diet.
For the growth and development of healthy swine, it is necessary to provide essential nutrients such as protein, energy, vitamins, and minerals.
Considering Embrapa's [1] info, the demands for the weaner phase are:
In the weaner phase, piglets require ingredients with a high apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) to aid growth and support the healthy development of their immune system.
Highly digestible food is crucial for pork diets. The better the ingredient's digestibility, the more nutrients are absorbed.
This choice is directly linked to the Nourish Conversion Indicator, resulting in better performance and more cost-benefit for the producers.
In this sense, an ingredient with high digestibility adds value to the environment, creating a more sustainable production process.
Grower Stage
The transition requires adjustments to the diet, specific nutritional needs, and options for a precise diet.
In the Animal Nutrition industry, a precise diet is formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of each species, using information and characteristics specific to the animals.
Embrapa [2] highlights that all formulations for the pork diet must consider all the stages of development, like weight, genetics, and climate.
During the grower stage, nutrients should be administered at low percentages. For example, protein levels should be at a maximum of 21% during the weaner stage and 16% during the grower stage [1].
Finisher Stage
During the Finisher Stage, nutritional requirements and portions are more precise. For example, Raw Protein is lower at 14.5% compared to the weaner and grower stages.
However, the cost of food in this stage is more extensive, because it needs to be given balanced rations in quantities that elevate the swine productivity.
In the stage of termination, it is essential to add all necessary minerals and vitamins for health maintenance [3]. Additionally, it is important to develop fat levels and other nutrients to proteins.
That's why a precise diet focuses on the specific metabolic needs of each animal. It avoids wasting nutrients or causing excess weight, which can lead to diseases and increased costs with treatment.
Enriched Ingredients and Ration Formulations
Like it was said before, the formulation of pig rations requires a deeper understanding of nutritional needs, considering age, weight, growth rate, and climate.
The nutritional demands of pigs in each stage require a balanced source of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. The careful selection of premium ingredients is of utmost importance when it comes to formulating a proportional diet.
Furthermore, optimizing animal nutrition and maximizing performance can be achieved by including additions such as hydrolyzed proteins, prebiotics, and bioactive peptides.
To create this type of diet, it is necessary to evaluate the nutritional value of ingredients and analyze their digestibility through laboratory tests. Animal performance should be monitored with different diets.
Monitoring the weight gain, food conversion, and general health of pigs can provide indicators of certain deficiencies and allow for diet optimization to maximize results.
Therefore, to achieve great performance and guarantee profitable businesses, pork production needs to have an efficient diet. BRF Ingredients has developed the BioActio portfolio to help with animal metabolic necessities.
The Importance of Precise Nutrition: BioActio
Efficient pork nutrition can have a significant impact on both the production and well-being of the animals. Besides, it can help with weight gain and food conversion, which impacts the profitability of pork production.
In the BioActio portfolio of BRF Ingredients, you can find BioActio Health & Performance and BioActio Efficiency.
BRF's BioActio portfolio is produced using enzymatic hydrolysis in the co-products of integrated production, resulting in a higher apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) that reduces waste and promotes sustainability.
The Benefits of BioActio for Pork Production:
- • Increase the absorption of nutrients;
- • Improve the food conversion;
- • Improve the immune system;
- • Elevated acceptability - 87% preference in pigs;
- • Increased digestibility.
Rich in functional bioactive peptides can provide increased digestibility and can generate specific functionality for pigs, BioActio promotes immunostimulating, antihypertensive, and antioxidant activities.
Consideration
Efficient nutrition is crucial for successful pork production. It is important to adapt diets for different stages, especially weaners, to ensure healthy growth.
Ration formulations, combined with advanced methods of nutritional evaluation, are necessary to promote health and genetic potential in pigs.
In this context, you can find precise nutrition ingredients that promote enhanced metabolic and healthy pigs on BioActio Health & Performance e BioActio Efficiency.
Thanks to bioactive peptides, BioActio promotes efficient animal nutrition and performance, with high palatability and digestibility, maximizing cost-benefit.
References
[1] Zardo, Ademir Otavio ; Lima, Gustavo J. M. M. Boletim Informativo - Pesquisa e Extensão. Alimentos para suínos. Embrapa. Available in: https://www.infoteca.cnptia.embrapa.br/infoteca/handle/doc/443269. Access: January 2024.
[2] Embrapa. Nutrição aponta caminhos para eficiência e redução de custos. Available in: https://www.embrapa.br/documents/1355242/0/Suínos+-+capítulo+5.pdf. Access: January 2024.
[3] Vaccinar Nutrição e Saúde Animal. Alimentação de Suínos por fase: Creche, Crescimento e Terminação. Available in: https://nutricaoesaudeanimal.com.br/alimentacao-de-suinos/. Access: January 2024.
[4] Associação Brasileira dos Criadores de Suinos (ABCS). Bem-estar animal na produção de suínos. Available in: original8101.pdf (embrapa.br). Access: January 2024.
[5] Farmes Weekly. 4 step guide to pig feeding and rations. Available in: 4-step guide to pig feeding and rations - Farmers Weekly (fwi.co.uk). Access: January 2024.
