Long-term effects of corn gluten feed on the reproductive performance and weight of gestating sows

Corn gluten feed (CGF) was evaluated as the primary energy and protein source for gestating sows. Eighty gravid multiparous Yorkshire x Landrace sows were assigned randomly to three treatment groups for the entire three-parity trial. The gestation treatment diets were 1) corn-soybean meal fed at 1.8 kg/d (control), 2) CGF plus soybean meal fed at 2.3 kg/d (CGF-low) and 3) CGF plus soybean meal fed at 2.6 kg/d (CGF-high). The CGF diets contained 92.2% and 93.7% CGF, respectively. Feeding levels of Diets 2 and 3 were based on the assumption that CGF had 80% and 70% of the net energy value of corn, respectively. All sows had ad libitum access to a conventional corn-soybean meal diet during lactation and were fed 3.2 kg/d during breeding. Intakes of gestation treatment diets were increased 25% during winter months. Based on litter size and weight, the performance of sows fed CGF did not differ from that of the sows fed the control diet. Mean number of pigs at birth and 21 d (weaning) for the three parities were: (control) 10.16, 7.65; (CGF-low) 11.30, 8.44; (CGF-high) 10.73, 8.13, respectively. Pigs from CGF-fed sows were smaller at birth (P less than .05), but subsequent pig weights did not differ. Mean pig birth and 21-d weights for the three parities were: (control) 1.44, 5.18; (CGF-low) 1.30, 4.84; (CGF-high) 1.31, 5.01 kg, respectively. CGF-low sows weighed less (P less than .01) at d 109 of gestation than did the control and CGF-high sows, which did not differ in weight.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)