Pigs can be fed diets in meal or pelleted form using different delivery methods (dry, wet/dry, or liquid). Pellets are fed (typically via dry or wet/dry feeding) to improve feed efficiency, while liquid feed, which maximizes growth rate and is associated with poorer feed efficiency, is generally prepared with meal. Research is required on how these feed forms and delivery methods influence the bacterial communities (bacteriome) of feed, as well as the intestinal bacteriome of pigs fed these diets, and how this may influence growth and feed efficiency of pigs. This study showed that lactic acid bacteria associated with fermentation in feed, including Lactobacillus, Weissella, and Leuconostoc, were highly abundant in the liquid feed sampled from feed troughs. Higher abundance of lactic acid bacteria, especially Leuconostoc, in the intestinal tract of liquid-fed pigs was correlated with the poorer feed efficiency observed in these pigs. This finding indicates that lactic acid bacteria in the feed may play a role in the poorer feed efficiency of liquid-fed pigs. Feeding pellets compared to meal also led to a less desirable ileal bacteriome, with a greater abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria in pellet-fed pigs.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.