Feeding sows sugar beet pulp (SBP) has many known benefits, for example, increased satiety and high fermentability. This study investigates the ability of the sow to utilize energy for fat retention when replacing part of starch with dietary fiber. After a demanding lactation, sows need to restore body fat, and concomitantly avoid excessive protein retention, which will increase energy demand for maintenance and risk of locomotory problems. The hypothesis in this study is that energy from fermented fibers is more efficient for fat retention than dietary starch. In the study, sows had numerically greater fat retention when fed high concentrations of fiber from SBP, but concomitantly sows unintendedly also increased their protein retention, which in turn substantially increased their body weight. Sows were allocated to one of three feeding strategies depending on their body condition score (lean, medium, or fat) in early gestation, and backfat was efficiently restored in most sows within a month. In conclusion, although gestating sows have a high capability to utilize energy from fermentable fiber, they are disposed to protein over fat retention. These aspects need to be addressed in the nutrition of modern genotype sows.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.