Evaluation of partial wheat grain replacement with fermented wheat on growth performance, blood characteristics and fecal noxious gas emission in finishing pigs

The present study investigated the effects of partial wheat grain replacement with fermented wheat on growth performance, blood characteristics, fecal noxious gas emission and meat quality in finishing pigs. Finishing pigs 144 [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with an average body weight of 57.99 ± 1.92 kg were used. The dietary treatments were corn-soybean meal based diets with different inclusions of wheat grain and substitutions by fermented wheat, as follows: T1) 10% wheat grain and 0% fermented wheat; T2) 5% wheat grain + 5% fermented wheat; T3) 5% wheat grain and 0% fermented wheat; and T4) 2.5% wheat grain + 2.5% fermented wheat. Pigs fed T2 and T4 had increased body weight, ADG, and G/F ratio compared to those fed T1 and T3, respectively. Pigs fed T1 and T4 increased IgG concentration compared to those fed T3 at 12 week. T2 treatment increased glucose concentration compared to T1 treatment. Pigs fed T1 had increased BUN concentration compared to those fed T2 and T3 at 6th week. There was no significant difference on fecal noxious gas emission and meat quality among treatments. From the results, we suggest that partial wheat grain replacement with fermented wheat improved body weight, ADG, and G/F ratio in finishing pigs. Therefore, fermented wheat can be used as a raw cereal substitute, improving the productivity in finishing pig.