Responses of weanling pigs to spray-dried animal plasma added to simple diets containing varying levels of soya-bean meal

A total of 276 crossbred pigs were used in three trials to determine if feeding spray-dried animal plasma (SDAP) in simple phase 1 piglet diets with differing soya-bean meal (SBM) levels can influence performance or immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels specific to the antigenic soya proteins, glycinin and beta-conglycinin. Pigs were blocked according to initial body weight and equalized across treatments according to gender and ancestry. Blocks of pigs were then randomly assigned to one of three treatments in a completely randomized block design. The dietary treatments were as follows : (1) 10% + : 100 g/kg SBM with 75 g/kg SDAP; (2) 20% + : 200 g/kg SBM with 75 g/kg SDAP; (3) 20%- : 200 g/kg SBM without SDAP. Pigs were given treatment diets for 14 days, followed by a common diet for the duration of the trials (35 days). Average daily gain (ADG) and gain to food (G : F) ratios were not affected by dietary treatments. Average daily food intake (ADFI), however, was greater for pigs given 10% + as compared with 20% + and 20%- (P < 0.05) during days 0 to 14 post weaning. Addition of SDAP increased ADFI (P < 0.01) and tended to increase ADFI when added to diets containing 200 g/kg of soya-bean meal (P = 0.06). No differences were detected in soya-specific IgG levels during any collection period. These data suggest that SDAP addition to simple phase 1 piglet diets increased ADFI during the first 2 weeks, but did not alter ADG or food efficiency. There was no indication that SDAP addition altered IgG titres against the soya-bean proteins, glycinin and beta-conglycinin.