Dietary Supplementation of Two-Stage Fermented Feather-Soybean Meal Product on Growth Performance and Immunity in Finishing Pigs

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of two-stage fermented feather meal-soybean meal product (TSFP) on growth performance, blood characteristics, and immunity of finishing pigs. Firstly, feather meal-soybean meal is subjected to aerobic fermentation with Bacillus subtilis var. natto N21, B. subtilis Da2 and Da15, B. amyloliquefaciens Da6, Da16 for two days, and anaerobic fermentation with B. coagulans L12 for three days. Then, the fermented product is air-dried into an end product—TSFP. Eighty hybrid pigs (Duroc x KHAPS) with equal numbers of both sexes are randomly assigned into 3% fish meal, 0%, 2.5%, or 5.0% TSFP groups with five replicates per group. Our results show that the average daily feed intake and feed conversion rate of TSFP groups are significantly better than the other groups at 0–3 weeks (p p p p p p < 0.05). In conclusion, TSFP has a positive effect on the growth performance and immunity of finishing pigs with the best performance on 5% TSFP.

Keywords

• finishing pig
• growth performance
• immunity
• blood biochemicals
• feather meal
• fermentation