Quality Issues with DDGS

X.X. Wen from Gansu Agricultural University in China and co-authors from Danisco reported the results of a survey on the fibre composition and crude protein content in 20 corn-DDGS samples from China.

In their poster, they reported mean values as follows: crude protein, 33.9 per cent; acid detergent fibre, 19.8 per cent; neutral detergent fibre, 31.8 per cent and hemicellulose, 12.0 per cent. The values for the co-efficient of variation (CV) were 8.7, 19.6, 21.4 and 39.4, respectively.

The researchers commented that their 20 corn-DDGS samples exhibited a large range of variation in their composition. The crude protein and acid detergent fibre contents were higher than the values generally reported for North American samples, whereas neutral detergent fibre content was within the range of variation usually observed.

Another poster reported the prevalence of mycotoxins in feed and feed ingredients, which is known to be impacted by weather conditions during the growing season and extended storage in bins and silos. Data was used from the Customer Laboratory Services (CLS) department of Kemin AgriFoods North America.

The samples tested included 90 of DDGS from customers, primarily from the Midwestern US, between August 2008 and October 2009. Although only 40 per cent of the whole corn samples were positive for the mycotoxins tested, all DDGS samples tested positive. E. Verrips and colleagues suggested this apparent discrepancy may be the result of the difficulty of obtaining representative samples of whole corn.

Use of Enzymes in Diets for Laying Hens

There were three posters at IPSF on the use of an enzyme product (Allzyme®SSF from Alltech) in diets containing DDGS for laying hens. The product is reported to have the following enzyme activities: phytase, protease, pentosanase, pectinase, cellulase, beta-glucanase and amylase.

The first poster was reported by M.K. Masa'deh and S.E. Scheideler of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. They used Hy-Line W-36 hens from 44 to 64 weeks of age, and fed diets containing five levels of DDGS (0, 10, 20, 30 or 40 per cent), with or without the enzyme (0.02 per cent).

Hens fed the highest level of DDGS had a lower egg mass (P<0.1) than those fed zero or 10 per cent DDGS. Yolk colour increased with increasing DDGS level. Other parameters were not significantly affected by treatment.

The authors concluded that feeding up to 30 per cent DDGS, with or without enzyme treatment, during Phase II of production had no negative effects on feed intake, egg production, egg weight, Haugh unit or specific gravity. They calculated that feeding the enzyme product had an economical benefit of $14.5/ton and feeding 30 per cent DDGS had a benefit of $59/ton of feed compared to the control diet, based on December 2008 prices.

The other two posters were submitted by the Alltech-University of Kentucky Nutrition Research Alliance: one used white layers and brown layers were chosen in the second experiment. In both, the dietary treatments were 15 or 23 per cent DDGS, with and without the enzyme product, and the effects were observed on egg quality and yolk colour. The four diets with DDGS had reduced levels of ME (2800 versus 2877 kcal/kg), calcium (4.1 versus 4.2 per cent) and available phosphorus (0.17 per cent for diets 15 per cent DDGS or 0.2 per cent for diets 23 per cent DDGS versus 0.29 per cent for the control diet). Egg production was monitored for 24 weeks.

The poster presented by P. Rossi as the first author used Hy-Line W-36 egg layers. The results led the researchers to conclude that DDGS is a useful feed ingredient for laying hens, and that DDGS could be included to the diet up to 23 per cent without negative effects on egg quality. The addition of DDGS impacted yolk color and may be useful in specialty markets. The addition of the enzyme product to the DDGS diets with lower nutrient density had no effect on egg quality, suggesting that higher DDGS inclusion levels or lower levels of energy, calcium and available phosphorus should be evaluated in the future.

A.J. Pescatore was the lead author on the second poster, which used the same trial design and treatments but Hy-Line Brown egg layers. Egg production, percentage shell and shell breaking strength were not significantly affected by DDGS in the diet but egg weight, yolk weight and albumen weight were depressed by the inclusion of DDGS in the diet. Yolk colour was impacted by the addition of DDGS to the diet.

The depression of egg weight with the inclusion of DDGS suggests it may be a useful tool to control egg size in brown egg layers, concluded the authors.

Effects of DDGS on Broiler Performance and Meat Quality

An evaluation of feeding DDGS and canola meal (CM) on broiler performance and carcass characteristics was reported in a poster by B. Jung of the University of Georgia. Careful consideration should be given when DDGS and CM are fed because negative effects on performance and carcass yield may be observed, concluded the researchers.

Day-old male heritage broilers were used in a 3 × 2 factorial experiment with the following dietary treatments: control; six per cent DDGS; 12 per cent DDGS; six per cent DDGS + 7.5 per cent CM; 12 per cent DDGS + 7.5 per cent CM; and 7.5 per cent CM. The trial lasted to 48 days of age. The diets were formulated to be isocaloric and to meet the bird's amino acid requirements.

Overall, the inclusion of up to 12 per cent DDGS in the diet did not affect body weight gain or feed intake but it did negatively impact feed efficiency. The inclusion of 7.5 per cent CM did not affect feed efficiency but it did reduce body weight gain and feed intake. There was no interaction between DDGS and CM on these parameters.

CM in the diet of broilers negatively impacted the yield of the carcass, tenders and legs, and the inclusion of DDGS or canola meal in the diet tended to reduce breast meat yield, reported Jung and co-authors.

In an oral presentation, M.W. Schilling from Mississippi State University presented results on the effects of DDGS on broiler meat quality. In summary, all treatments yielded high quality breast meat and thigh meat quality was similar for treatments containing zero to 12 per cent DDGS. However, higher inclusion levels led to thigh meat that was more susceptible to oxidation.

The researchers had fed levels of zero, six, 12, 18 and 24 per cent DDGS to broilers up to 42 days of age. For the breast meat, DDGS resulted in a higher pH although no significant effects were seen on cooking loss, instrumental colour and consumer acceptability. The chemical composition of breast and thigh meat was unaffected by treatment. However, as DDGS concentration increased, there was a significant linear increase in linoleic and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which indicates a greater potential for lipid oxidation, which was confirmed by TBARS values that were higher for the 18 and 24 per cent DDGS treatments at day 5 than the control and six per cent DDGS treatments.

Enzyme Supplementation to Ameliorate Negative Effects of DDGS in Broiler Diets

Three oral papers covered enzyme supplementation of broilers diets containing DDGS.

One – presented by M. Argüelles-Ramos of North Carolina State University looked at the optimisation of the protease dose, with or without xylanase and amylase, to increase amino acid digestibility in broilers fed diets with 10 per cent DDGS. The experiment was carried out with Danisco Animal Nutrition. The results confirmed that protease addition, alone or in combination with xylanase and amylase, increased amino acid digestibility, which was maximised at around 5,000 units of protease/kg feed, concluded the authors.

The group had conducted the experiment to determine if the protease activity, or xylanase and amylase (X+A) activities contained in a multi-enzyme product (XAP) contributed to positive effects on amino acid digestibility that had previously been observed when XAP was included in broiler diets. Their second objective was to determine if the protease dose that maximised amino acid digestibility in diets containing DDGS was different when protease was included alone, or in combination with X+A enzymes.

They had used with four doses of protease (0, 2500, 5,000 or 10,000 units/kg feed), with or without a combination of X+A. The test diets were fed to male broilers from 14 to 21 days of age. An increase in protease above the optimum level of 5,000 units/kg reduced amino acid digestibility.

Also from North Carolina State University, M.H. Schwartz reported an experiment looking at enzyme supplementation of corn-based diets with zero or 10 per cent DDGS, in co-operation with DSM Nutritional Products, Inc. From the results, it was concluded that enzyme and DDGS supplementation in starter diets were most effective on broiler growth performance.

The diets differed in energy level (low or high), and two different enzymes were used (Ronozyme® WX, a xylanase product; and Roxazyme® G2, which contains a broad array of enzyme activities. Broilers, both males and females were fed the mash diets to 49 days of age, in three phases. The high energy diets significantly increased final body weight of both females and males, and improved mixed sex overall feed conversion. Dietary enzyme supplementation improved 14-day weight of both sexes and improved feed conversion over the period 1 to 14 days. Over the same period, dietary DDGS inclusion had no significant effect on body weight but improved feed conversion.

There were significant energy × enzyme interaction effects for 14-day body weights for both sexes but not feed conversion. Dietary enzyme supplementation improved body weights by approximately six per cent in the low-energy diets but by only two to five per cent in the high-energy diets. Feed conversion improved at 14 days by 11.4 per cent and 4.7 per cent with enzyme supplementation in the low- and high-energy diets, respectively.

Also involving DSM Nutritional Products was a paper presented by J. Arce from Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo in Mexico, looking at the effect of adding protease and xylanase feed enzymes for broilers fed diets containing maize, soybean meal and DDGS. Under the experimental conditions of this trial, the combination of protease and xylanase activities (Ronozyme ProAct + Ronozyme WX) yielded the best results in terms of broiler performance, said the researchers.

The diets contained five per cent DDGS in the starter phase, and 10 per cent in the grower and finisher, and they had been formulated to allow for the previously reported effects of the enzyme products on energy, phosphorus and amino acid release.

The treatment including both enzyme products resulted in more weight gain than the other treatments, as well as a better feed conversion than the control diet.

DDGS Adversely Affect Pellet Quality

The use of high levels of DDGS in the diet causes pellet quality to decrease while reducing energy usage at the pellet mill, according to R.E. Loar II of Mississippi State University and co-authors. They added that the use of sand in the formulation did not enhance the milling variables in the high-DDGS diet.

They used four diet formulations of similar specification: a conventional diet with no DDGS inclusion (control); a diet with 15 per cent DDGS; a diet with 30 per cent DDGS; and a diet with 30 per cent DDGS and two per cent sand. The latter treatment was created to assess whether sand enhances milling variables.

Feed rate into the conditioner was held constant, producing a goal through-put of approximately 1.2 metric tons per hour, slightly above the rated mill capacity of 0.9 metric tons per hour to simulate industry practice. Conditioning temperature was 82.2°C and pellets were formed using a 40-horsepower California pellet mill with a 4.76 × 38.10 mm (3/16 × 1 and 1/2-inches) die.

Significant differences were obtained for all variables measured with the exception of production rate. The diet containing 15 per cent DDGS reduced conditioner electrical energy usage compared to both 30 per cent DDGS feeds, while the control was intermediate.

The control feed resulted in greater pellet mill relative energy usage compared to all other treatments. The control yielded pellets with more structural integrity than any other treatment, while the 30 per cent DDGS feeds resulted in the poorest values. Inclusion of 15 per cent DDGS had intermediate pellet quality measures. The inclusion of 30 per cent DDGS produced more fines than the other treatments, while the control produced the least fines.

Glycerol Improves Pellet Quality but Beware of Conditioning Temperature

E.F. Mader and colleagues at Kansas State University reported two studies conducted to evaluate the effects of utilising glycerol in swine and poultry diets on pelleting performance. The concluded that glycerol addition positively affects pellet quality but that conditioning temperatures must be reduced diets contain glycerol.

Their first study was a small-scale experiment with a maize-soybean meal pig grower diet containing zero, three, six or nine per cent glycerol. The feed was pelleted after steam conditioning for 30 seconds to 65, 77 or 88°C in an atmospheric conditioner. Production rate was held constant and electrical energy and pellet quality were measured.

In Experiment 2, the first experiment was repeated in a large commercial facility. A maize/soy-based turkey grower diet was formulated with three per cent glycerol. The diet was pelleted using a 500 HP Bliss pellet mill. Energy usage and pellet quality were measured.

In the first experiment, there was an interaction between glycerol and conditioning temperature. For all diets containing glycerol, roll skid occurred and the pellet mill plugged as conditioning temperature approached 88°C but it did not occur when diets were conditioned to 65 and 77°C. Electrical energy consumption tended to decline as conditioning temperature increased. The addition of glycerol did not significantly influence power use (KWH/ton). Pellet quality increased linearly with increasing levels of glycerol.

Results from the second experiment were similar to the first, in that there was an interaction between condition temperature and the addition of glycerol. The addition of glycerol improved pellet durability.

References

Argüelles-Ramos M., J.T. Brake, P.W. Plumstead and L.F. Romero. 2010. Optimization of protease dose with/without xylanase and amylase to increase amino acid digestibility in broilers fed diets with 10 per cent DDGS. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. M38.

Arce J., E. Avila, E. Rosales, S. Charraga and S.R. Fernández. 2010. Effect of adding protease and xylanase feed enzymes activities on broilers fed corn-SBM-DDGS diets. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. T108.

Jung B., A. B. Batal and R. Mitchell. 2010. Evaluation of feeding distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and canola meal on broiler performance and carcass characteristics. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. P226.

Loar R.E. II, J.S. Moritz and A. Corzo. 2010 Effects of varying levels of DDGS on pelleting characteristics and feed mill efficiency. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. M24.

Mader E.F., A.C. Fahrenholz, J. Wilson and L.J. McKinney. 2010 Utilizing glycerol in swine and poultry diets: feed manufacturing considerations. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. M76.

Masa'deh M.K. and S.E. Scheideler 2010. High dietary inclusion of dried distillers grains with solubles in laying hen rations in combination with Allzyme®SSF enzyme (Phase II). Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. P202.

Pescatore A.J., P. Rossi, A.H. Cantor, J.L. Pierce, T. Ao, L.M. Macalintal, M.J. Ford, W.D. King, III and H.D. Gillespie. 2010. Effect of the addition of distillers dried grains with solubles and an enzyme supplement to diets for brown egg layers on egg quality and yolk color. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. P247.

Rossi P., A.J. Pescatore, A.H. Cantor, J.L. Pierce, T. Ao, L.M. Macalintal, M.J. Ford, W.D. King III and H.D. Gillespie. 2010. Effect of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and enzyme supplementation on egg quality and yolk color. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. P244.

Schilling M.W., V. Battula, R.E. Loar II, V. Jackson, S. Kin, and A. Corzo, 2010. Dietary inclusion level effects of distillers dried grains with solubles on broiler meat quality. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. M85.

Schwartz M.H., N.E. Ward, P.R. Ferket and J. Brake. 2010. Enzyme supplementation of corn-based diets with or without distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for broilers. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. M23.

Verrips E., S. Klein, A. Lamptey and A.G. Yersin. P233 An overview of the prevalence of mycotoxins in feed and feed ingredients. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. P233.

Wen X.X., F.D. Li, A. Peron and Y.J. Ru. 2010 Fiber composition and crude protein content in 20 corn-DDGS samples from China. Proceedings of International Poultry Scientific Forum 2010, Atlanta, US. P213.

Further Reading

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You can view our previous report from IPSF 2010 by clicking here.

February 2010