NUTRITION ▶▶▶
Popcorn for piglets – how to improve digestibility?
At weaning, the young piglet’s gastrointestinal tract is not completely mature yet. That is why weaner feed is expensive – a lot of attention is paid to making feed ingredients as tasty and digestible as they can be. Puffing – a process essentially identical to making popcorn – is a sophisticated method to achieve just that.
BY QIANQIAN JIANG, WILLY DERKS AND PIERRE VAN ZON, LIMAGRAIN INGREDIENTS
Piglets are exposed to a radical change of feed at weaning. They must switch from their mother’s milk, which is liquid, easily assimilated and naturally rich in proteins and soluble sugar (lactose), to a solid feed, rich in cereals and which re- quires a whole new enzymatic machinery to break down these new proteins and starch to obtain the energy necessary for growth.
Figure 1 - Evolution of the main intestinal enzyme activities during the first weeks of a piglet’s life.
Lactase Amylase Maltase Lipase Pepsin & trypsin 0 1 Source: Kirchgessner, 1996. 2 3 4 Age (weeks) 5 6 7
Figure 1 shows the evolution of the main intestinal enzyme activities during the first weeks of the piglet. It is well known that starch and crude fat are the main energy sources for pigs. Just as uncooked cereals are not ideal for human babies, piglets also need pre-gelatinised cereals because of their underdeveloped digestive system. Provided they are given good nutrition and care, the morphological adaptations and digestive capacity of suckling piglets go through substantial changes with their increase in age. However, despite those increases of digestive enzymes, the suckling pig has only reached two-thirds of its mature digestive capacity at three to four weeks of age (when conventional weaning usually takes place). In short, they need extra support to stimulate the maturation of their digestive system. Keeping piglets eating during weaning is crucial for their fu- ture growth and weight gain. With the sudden change of diet,
▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 8, 2021
Flour obtained after grinding of puffed maize grain (top left); then clockwise pellets obtained from the ground grain; puffed maize just after the pressure cooking treat- ment; and pellets mixing corn and barley.
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Relative enzyme development
PHOTO: LIMAGRAIN
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