Evaluation of energy and nutrient utilization for corn, barley, and wheat bran in primiparous and multiparous sows during the gestation, lactation, and post-weaning period

Despite extensive research focusing on feed ingredients for growing pigs, limited studies have systematically evaluated the effect of physiological stage and parity on feed ingredient utilization in sows. This study aimed to evaluate the energy and nutrient utilization of corn, barley, and wheat bran in primiparous and multiparous sows across different physiological stages. A total of 20 primiparous (initial body weight 186.9 ± 4.2 kg) and 24 multiparous (initial body weight 253.9 ± 6.1 kg) were used across the gestation (50 d), lactation, and post-weaning period, using a randomized complete block design with 4 dietary treatments (control, corn, barley, and wheat bran), where primiparous and multiparous sows had 5 and 6 replicates per treatment, respectively. For primiparous sows, the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and gross energy (GE) in barley was higher during lactation than during the post-weaning period (P < 0.05), and the ATTD of NDF in wheat bran was also higher during lactation than post-weaning (P < 0.05). Across all three ingredients, NDF digestibility was consistently higher during lactation compared to post-weaning (P < 0.05). In multiparous sows, the ATTD of crude protein (CP) in corn was higher during gestation and lactation than during post-weaning (P < 0.05). Digestible energy and ATTD of GE in wheat bran were greater during lactation than gestation (P < 0.05). For all ingredients, metabolizable energy (ME) was higher during lactation than during gestation and post-weaning, and CP digestibility during lactation and gestation exceeded that in the post-weaning period (P < 0.05). Parity also influenced nutrient utilization. During gestation, primiparous sows showed higher ATTD of CP in wheat bran (P < 0.05), while multiparous sows had higher ATTD of ether extract (EE) in both barley (P < 0.01) and wheat bran (P < 0.05). During lactation, corn digestibility was not different between different physiological stages. Primiparous sows showed higher ATTD of NDF in barley compared with multiparous sows (P < 0.01), whereas multiparous sows exhibited higher ATTD of EE in both barley and wheat bran (P < 0.05). In the post-weaning period, primiparous sows had higher ME and ATTD of CP in corn (P < 0.05), while multiparous sows had higher ATTD of EE in both barley (P < 0.05) and wheat bran (P < 0.01). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that physiological stage and parity affect nutrient digestibility and energy utilization in sows. Lactation improved the utilization of barley and wheat bran, and multiparous sows exhibited greater EE digestibility.