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Swine

Value of Pelleted Pig Nursery Diets

Young Animal : Nutrition

Dan McManus, DVM

Young Animal Swine, Technical Sales Specialist

When should a producer look at a pelleted diet vs. a meal diet for their pigs?

It is usually simply an analysis of the cost to produce a pellet and the economic benefits that a pelleted diet will bring to the bottom line.
 
Here are some benefits to pelleted pig nursery diets: 
  1. Improves feeder management:  Feeding pellets make it easier to adjust feeders properly and reduce feed waste.
  2. Improves performance:  Most research has shown a 7-10 percent improvement in feed efficiency by pelleting.
  3. Increases feed efficiency:  Pelleting allows the pig feed manufacturer to reduce the particle size of the grain without creating many of the bridging and handling problems, typical of finely ground meal feed. A reduction in particle size by 100 microns is worth about $1 per pig benefit in feed efficiency.
  4. Improves digestibility:  When the pig feed is heated in the pelleting process, it breaks down carbohydrate bonds and allows for increased digestibility and efficiency. 
If we assume a 3 percent improvement in average daily gain, a 7 percent improvement in feed conversion and a cost to pellet nursery diets of $12 per ton, then we capture the economic advantages of pelleting in the chart below. As feed costs have risen, the advantage to pelleting has increased from about $0.50 per pig to $1 per pig. 

Recommendation 
Seek out a source for good quality pellets. Do your own economic analysis on the cost benefits of pelleting nursery diets. It will probably pay to pellet your diets at least through the nursery phase of your feeding program.
 
Further a successful start with optimized vaccinations