The Effect of Increasing Neutral Detergent Fiber Level through Different Fiber Feed Ingredients throughout the Gestation of Sows

SIMPLE SUMMARY: To reduce feed costs, the exploration of feed resources is currently the main research direction. In the past, fiber feed was generally regarded as anti-nutritional factors. Recently, fiber has received special attention due to its many beneficial effects. Therefore, this study selected five common household and production wastes as fiber sources and added them to the diet of pregnant sows to explore the impact on sows and piglets. The results of this study indicated that adding corn gluten feed (CG) significantly improved the digestibility of sows and body weight (BW) of piglets, which provide evidence and insight for the application of corn gluten feed in gestation sow diets. ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of increasing dietary neutral detergent fiber (NDF) levels on pregnant sows, and to select the best feed ingredients based on reproductive performance, plasma biochemistry parameters, colostrum and milk composition, and nutrient digestibility. Seventy-two multiparous sows were randomly allotted to six dietary treatment groups (n = 12). The feeding of chicory meal (CM), wheat bran (WB), corn gluten, and rice bran meal (RBM) increased the average weaning weight of piglets compared with the control (CON) group (p < 0.05). Supplementation with CG diet increased the sow BW, weight gain, and back fat thickness compared with WB and RBM on day 107 of gestation (p < 0.05). Furthermore, Supplementation with CG diet resulted in lower plasma urea nitrogen (PUN) and higher total protein (TP) concentrations in plasma (p < 0.05). Feeding CM diet and soybean curd residue (SCR) diet reduced the total protein and globulin, and supplementation with CM diet significantly increased the PUN (p < 0.05). The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of crude protein (CP), crude fat (EE), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were decreased following the addition of CM, WB, or SCR to the diets (p < 0.05). The ATTD of NDF and ADF were significantly increased in the CG group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the feeding of CG diet to sows have an excellent effect.