Fiber in Animal Nutrition

Fiber in Swine Nutrition 24 constipation, flushes the urogenital tract and supports milk production. Lignocellulose was also investigated at the IFIP trial station in France (Quiniou, 2009) for its influence on water intake. Here the ef- fect of Arbocel (2% gestation; 1% lactation) on water intake was evaluated after replacing wheat bran (8.5% gestation; 4.2% lactation) and sugar beet pulp (2.5% gestation; 1.3% lactation) in the control diets. Lignocellulose is an insoluble fiber with a very high water binding capacity.This results in 20% higher water intake (table 4). Due to the fact that the water bound to lignocellulose is available in the hind gut when exposed to osmotic pressure (acts like a sponge) it can contribute to a better water supply in sows. 2.4.2 Piglets Weaning is one of the most critical phases in piglet rearing. Withdrawal from sow, solely solid feed, a new environment and mixing with unfamiliar pigs results in psychological and physical stress that can affect the func- tion of the digestive tract and the immune system. Impaired piglet health, feed intake and growth are the consequences. Diarrhea in the post weaning phase (first 14 days) is the most visible sign of these problems. Feeding antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) can help overcome these problems. In many countries however AGPs are forbidden, additionally the use of antibiotics will be restricted more and more as medication tool. Thus, new strategies have been developed to approach the problems associated to the weaning phase. These approaches involve different additives to stabilize the digestive system, i.e. pre/ probiotics, organic acids, enzymes, plant extracts or adapting feeds for (Kamphues et al. 2009): • good energy supply Figure 5: Individual average daily water consumption in the high fiber group (n = 12) and in the lact group (n = 12). The asterisk indicate the degree of significance (* p<0.05; **p<0.01); Peltoniemi and Oliviero (2011) Control Arbocel Water intake (liter/day) 29 35 Table 4: Impact of Arbocel on water intake (Quiniou, 2009) 60 45 30 15 0 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 L/day/sow Days to farrowing (0) 3.8 % Fiber 7.0 % Fiber * ** ** ** ** ** * * * * © ERLING Verlag