High canola meal inclusion in gestation and lactation sow diets with Saccharomyces cerevisiae product on reproductive performance, milk composition, and nutrient digestibility of sow and litter performance

Abstract The objective of this study was to assess how sow and litter performance and nutrient utilization were affected by dietary probiotic supplementation in gestation and lactation diets that contained high levels of canola meal. Seventy-five sows were allotted to one of three treatment diets, starting on d 80 of gestation. The experimental diets included a control diet (CTRL) composed of corn and soybean meal, or a modified CTRL diet where soybean meal was substituted with 300 g/kg of canola meal, provided either with (CCM-P) or without (CCM) Saccharomyces cerevisiae product supplementation. On d 80 and d 111 of pregnancy, as well as on d 1 and d 21 following farrowing, the sow body weight (BW) and backfat thickness were recorded. Piglet weights were measured on d 1 and d 19 after birth. Milk and blood samples from sows were collected on d 1 and d 19 post-farrowing to measure nutrient composition. Additionally, fecal samples were gathered on d 110 of gestation and d 19 of lactation to analyze apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) with titanium dioxide as an indicator. Data were analyzed through the PROC MIXED procedure in SAS 9.4, following a randomized complete block design. Results indicated that the inclusion of CCM in sow diets had no significant effect on sow or litter growth performance, as well as plasma urea N levels. However, in contrast to gestating sows fed the CTRL diet, those fed the CCM diet had lower (P < 0.05) ATTD of gross energy, dry matter, and crude protein. In contrast, the CCM-P diet led to increased (P < 0.05) ATTD of phosphorus and tended to increase (P = 0.08) ATTD of calcium relative to the CCM group. Furthermore, lactating sows fed CCM diets demonstrated higher (P < 0.05) ATTD of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) compared to the CTRL group. Milk fat content was significantly greater (P < 0.05) in sows consuming CCM diets than those fed the CTRL diet. In conclusion, incorporating 300 g/kg canola meal into sow diets during late gestation and lactation maintained similar reproductive and litter performance compared to the control diet but negatively impacted nutrient digestibility in late gestating sows. Supplementing the canola meal diet with S. cerevisiae product improved phosphorus digestibility and milk fat content, suggesting that probiotics may mitigate some negative effects of canola meal in sow nutrition.