Nutritional value of barley bagasse determined with growing pigs

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the nutritional value of barley bagasse (BB) in swine. Three samples of BB from the same brewery were analyzed for chemical composition with the following mean results: dry matter (DM), 21,58%; gross energy, 52156 kg/kg DM; crude protein, 24.89%; ether extract, 10.82%; ash, 8.01%; crude fiber, 15.99%; neutral detergent fiber, 66,37%; acid detergent fiber 24,24% and nitrogen-free extract, 56,28%. A digestibility trial was conducted with five castrated male pigs of 35 kg, mean liveweight housed individually in metabolism cages. The treatments consisted of two diets, one being a control (74% maize, 21.4% soybean meal and 4.6% other ingredients), and the other a test diet in which BB substituted for 40% of the control formula (DM basis). The digestible energy value determined for BB was 2983 kg/kg DM. Inclusion of BB in the diet reduced the urinary excretion of nitrogen and improved the efficiency of nitrogen utilization, but it also reduced nutrient digestibilities due to its fibrous nature.