Effect of rice distillers’ by-product on growth performance and digestibility of Moo Laat and Mong Cai pigs fed rice bran and water spinach

Taysayavong Lotchana

Champasack University
Champasack province, Lao PDR
Lotchanasouks@yahoo.com

General discussion

Local feed resources for pigs in Laos

The type of feed given depends on the farming system, the availability of labor and suitable vegetation. Feeds include rice bran, broken rice, banana pseudostem, taro, yams, maize, cassava and vegetation collected in fallow fields and forests (Phonvisay Singkham 2003). In remote upland areas, the collection of feed can take up as much as 2-3 hours per day in addition to preparation and cooking of the feed. In some villages, cassava and maize are specially planted for pig feed and this reduces the labor needs for feeding pigs (Stür Werner 2002). On the other hand, Phengsavanhanh et al (2006a) have reported that Stylo 184, which was introduced as a broadly adapted forage legume for feeding to ruminants, could also be fed to pigs and poultry. They considered that for poor smallholder farmers in the uplands of Lao PD, Stylo could be a valuable supplement.  The pigs liked to eat Stylo and it was found that the pigs grew better with Stylo than with natural leaves and herbs, the daily gain in weight being 191 g/day and 95 g/day, respectively. Intake was better when the Stylo was fed sun-dried than fresh (Phengsavanhanh 2006b). Khoutsavang (2003) reported that the mixture of cassava foliages and fresh Stylo 184 fed together ad libitum improved the quality of the diet, which resulted in higher intake and better growth rate and feed conversion, which led to improved economical efficiency, as well as making use of locally available, low cost resources.

Pig production in Laos

Pig production is an important livelihood activity of the small-holder farmer in Laos. Management is simple as the pigs are allowed to scavenge freely around the house and village. In some cases a supplement of cooked feed made from local feed available resources is provided.

The indigenous pig population numbered 1,432,000 in 1998. They accounted for about 92% of the total pork production with the balance of 8% from exotic pigs (Phonvisay Singkham 2003).

Breed of local pig in Laos and Vietnam

The tropics present great opportunities for sustainable development thanks to the enormous cultural and biological riches of these regions. The rational exploitation of local feeds and local breeds of livestock will support much more sustainable production systems in the medium and long term. These have received insufficient attention in the past and have not been considered seriously because of the introduction of "exotic" systems based on high inputs, high technology and "breeds of high genetic merit". As a result, local breeds of pigs and cattle in many tropical countries have disappeared or their population is decreasing drastically (Rodríguez and Preston 1997). Local breeds perform well in low-input systems, fulfilling multiple functions for small-holder households. They have lower performance than exotics, but require lower production inputs (Lemke et al 2005).

Moo Laat pigs

 In Lao PDR, farmers keep pigs more than other species of animal. Local pigs are the main stock to be raised and their feeds are derived from vegetables collected from the forest, root crops such as: cassava, maize, wild root crops and household refuse. This practice is of low input - low output. The main constraint is protein (Keo 2000).

Several native breeds are recognized including ‘Moo Chid’, ‘Moo Laat’, ‘Moo Daeng’ and ‘Moo Nonghaet’. Most local pigs tend to have high fat content in the carcass; are black in colour and swaybacked as for most Asian breeds. They reach a mature weight of 60-100 kg. They are hardy and able to scavenge at least part of their feed requirements in free-range conditions. Growth rates tend to be slow in extensive management systems and animals may take 15 months to reach a weight of 40-50 kg (Kennard 1996). Farmers report that many sows only have 1 litter per year with 6-8 piglets per litter. Imported breeds, such as Landrace and Large White and their crosses are used by a small number of farmers, particularly in semi-commercial pig farms near population centers (Vongthilath and Blacksell 1999). Gibson and Wilkie (1998) noted that imported breeds, introduced to small-holder farmers in Bokeo province, did not perform as well as local breeds in these conditions.

Mong Cai pigs

In Vietnam there are about 1 million Mong Cai sows, which is around 50% of the total sow population. The breed is particularly popular in the North and Central parts of the country, where it is used as parent stock for the production of crossbred fatteners. In the rural areas farmers often feed Mong Cai sows with low levels of protein based on locally produced feed resources, such as crop residues and agro-industrial by-products (Hoang Nghia Duyet et al 2000).

The Mong Cai breed has small to medium body size. The head is black with small and upright ears. Black patches are elsewhere on the body with a white band running from one side of the abdomen over the shoulder to other side of the abdomen, making a white saddle over the middle of its concave back. High prolificacy, good adaptation to poor-quality feed and disease resistance are its favored characteristics. Gilts reach puberty at 2-3 months of age. Average litter size at birth is as high as 12. Pigs weigh 60 kg at 12 months of age, with backfat thickness of 53-59 mm (Nguyen Ngoc Tuan and Tran Thi Dan 1995).

Lemke (2006) studied pigs in two villages with semi-intensive production conditions and a high rate of improved Mong Cai sows producing LW×MC offspring. The performance in the observed population was high (1.5 litters/year, with 8.4 piglets weaned, up to 93.0 kg weight of piglets weaned sow/year, and 177 g/day daily weight gain). Lower performance of 1.1 litters/year, 5.5 piglets weaned/litter, 30.9 kg piglets’ weaned sow/year, and 85 g/day ADG were observed in indigenous Ban pigs in villages distant from towns managed under extensive conditions.

In the experiment reported in Paper I, the Mong Cai gilts grew faster than the Lao indigenous Moo Laat pigs, and appeared to digest better the basal diet of rice bran and water spinach. The Mong Cai also grew faster when the basal diet of rice bran and water spinach was supplemented with rice distillers’ by-product. In contrast, the Moo Laat gilts appeared to require a considerable time (about 6 weeks) before they began to respond to the rice distillers’ residue.

Dam Van Tien and Preston (2003) showed that weaned piglets exposed to an unfamiliar feed (duckweed) required a considerable time to adapt to the new feed, but this time was shortened when the mother sows were fed the “unfamiliar” feed during pregnancy (in utero adaptation), or in early lactation when the piglets could “learn from their mother”. It is possible that a similar phenomenon might explain the long adaption period to rice distillers’ by-product noted in the Mong Laat pigs.

Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica)

Water spinach is easy to grow on soil or in water and responds dramatically to fertilization with organic manure, especially the effluent from biodigesters. Kean Sophea and Preston (2002) reported that the important feature of water spinach is its capacity yield high levels of biomass when fertilized with effluent from biodigesters charged with pig manure. The biomass yield was higher when water spinach was grown in soil rather than in water according to Ly Thi Luyen and Preston (2003). Le Thi Men and Preston (2005) have suggested that small-holder farmers should cultivate vegetables as supplements for pigs, using effectively animal excreta. San Thy and Preston (2001) also reported that the effluent from a biodigester loaded with pig manure was a good fertilizer for water spinach production, and improve soil productivity. Earthworm compost was superior to urea in promoting biomass growth and crude protein content of water spinach (Tran Hong Chat and Preston 2005).

Fresh biomass yields were higher (15 tonnes/ha/month) when water spinach was established from seed than from stem cuttings (9.18 tones/ha/month) (Ho Bunyeth and Preston 2004). The N content of the water spinach leaves increased from 3.08 to 5.56% in DM (from 19.3 to 34.8% crude protein)  by application of 200 kg N/ha as biodigester effluent. Stems were much lower in N (1.2 to 2.0% in DM) and this index tended to decrease with increasing application of effluent N

Using Water spinach as a protein supplement in pig diet

Water spinach is traditionally consumed by people in SE Asia and appears to be devoid of non-nutritional elements. Harvesting this plant from lagoons fertilized with waste water from urban centres is an important source of income for poor people in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Besides that, water spinach can produce high yields of biomass rich in protein, which makes it a potentially valuable supplement for feeding pigs (Sorn Suheang et al 2003). Fresh chopped water spinach was shown to replace 30% of the DM of concentrate diets for gestating sows and 15% of the diet of lactating sows of both local and exotic breeds according to Le Thi Men et al (2000) and Sivilai et al (2010). Hoang Nghia Duyet et al (2010) have shown that a mixture of foliages (sweet potato leaves, water spinach and cassava leaves) can replace 50% of a conventional protein supplement for both Mong Cai and Yorkshire sows without affecting piglet performance or sow reproduction. Water spinach could replace 20% of the crude protein from the concentrate for fattening pigs (Le Thi Men 2001). Higher levels of water spinach were used by Chhay Ty et al (2005) who reported that the growth and conversion rates were 50% better for the diets with water spinach alone, or as a mixture with fresh cassava leaves, compared with fresh cassava leaves alone. Growth rates and feed conversion tended to be better when mulberry leaves were mixed with the water spinach compared with mulberry leaves alone (Chiv Phiny et al 2008). Chhay Ty and Preston (2006) have shown that there is a synergistic effect on growth rate of pigs by replacing cassava leaves with water spinach, as the main protein source. The relative response to substituting cassava leaves with water spinach increased as the degree of replacement was increased (Chhay Ty et al 2006a and 2006b).

A similar synergistic effect was observed when water spinach was added to rice bran in the experiment reported in Paper II. The predicted (by the “difference” method) coefficients of apparent digestibility were 99 and 150% for the DM and crude protein in the water spinach, when this supplied 15% of the diet DM) implying that the effect of adding the water spinach to the rice bran was much greater than expected from the arithmetic average of the digestibility of the rice bran and the water spinach as separate feeds, even assuming the water spinach had been 90% digestible.

Rice distillers’ by-product

Local alcohol can be made from sticky rice, maize, sweet potato, cassava and bananas. Most popular for pig feeding is rice distillers’ residues. It should be mixed with other feeds such as rice bran and broken rice. Distillers’ residues can be fed to fattening pigs. The following is an example of combining distillers’ residues with energy-rich feeds: rice bran (2 kg), broken rice (1 kg) and distillers’ residues (5-10 liters) (Oosterwijk and Vongthilath 2003).

How to make the Lao alcohol

The wine is made from sticky rice that is fermented with yeast, as shown below:

1. Weigh 25 kg of the sticky rice and then soak it with clean water for 1 night

2. After that take off the excess and steam for 1:30 hours

3. The total weight of the mixture is now about 36 kg and is then divided into 4 parts (9 kg/jar)

4. Water is added to clean the sticky rice and to reduce the temperature

5. The yeast (40 g/jar) is then added and mix together with the sticky rice, after that the mixture is returned to the jar which is then covered.

6. We have to wait for 3 days (72 h) and then add water (8 liters/jar) into the jar and ferment it for 4 more days (96h).

7. The final step is to distill the alcohol. The contents of the 4 jars are put into one large pot and boiled.

8. The final products are alcohol rich wine (19 – 21 liters of strength about 40 degrees) and rice distiller’s residue (around 52 kg wet form)

Some of the steps in the process are shown below:

The chemical composition of the ingredients and the product

In the experiment reported in Paper I, there were positive responses in growth rate of Mong Cai gilts when rice distillers’ by-product was added at the 10% level to the basal diet of rice bran and water spinach. This is agreement with the report of Luu Huu Manh et al (2003). This positive effect was not initially evident in the indigenous Moo Laat gilts that grew more slowly on the distillers’ by-product supplement during the first 6 weeks after first exposure to this feed. Subsequently, however, they compensated by growing faster with the distillers’ supplement. The need for adaptation in the case of the Moo Laat may be because of lack of familiarity with this new feed by previous generations of this local breed. In contrast, in Vietnam (from where the Mong Cai gilts originated), it is common practice to feed the rice distillers’ by-product to pigs and it had a well balanced array amino acids (Luu Huu Manh et al 2009).

Digestion and utilization of fibre by pig

Fiber is an important component of all but a few feedstuffs used in the feeding of pigs. It is resistant to digestion by endogenous enzymes in the small intestine thereby becoming the main substrate for bacterial fermentation, in the large intestine and caecum (Knudsen 2009). Because of the physical properties of dietary fiber, it interacts both with the microflora and the mucosa at all sites in the gastrointestinal tract. In this way it has an important role in the complex interaction between the diet, the endogenous enzymes, the mucosa and the microflora all of which are considered important in the assimilation of nutrients and are key components for optimal “gut health”. Jérôme et al (2007) also commented on the role of dietary fiber as a possible means to reduce nitrogen losses in production units and to improve intestinal health and welfare of the pigs.

Various studies suggest that the pig can utilize fiber for growth, and up to 30% of its maintenance energy may be derived from volatile fatty acids produced in the large intestine and caecum (Roman et al 1987; Ogle 2006). It appears desirable that in the future, pig production should utilise at least a proportion of fibrous carbohydrate polymers (Leng 1991). On the other hand, fibrous feeds may have a potential role to play in the overall performance of breeding sows. The stress of ‘hunger” associated with restricted feeding of high nutrient density feeds during gestation is lessened by feeding bulky (fibrous) feeds which are consumed more slowly (Zoiopoulos 2000). Increasing the fiber content in the diet affected the fecal digestibility of CP, ether extract, and energy (Wilfart et al 2007); however, ileal digestibility of amino acids was not affected according to Lenis et al (1996) and Sauer et al (1991).

Conclusions

• Indigenous pigs are suitable for the small-holder farmer as they are adapted to finding and consuming available feed resources in the farm environment.

• There are opportunities for using a wide range of forages as sources of protein to balance rice bran which is the most commonly available feed resource in SE Asian countries

• The residues from artisan production and distilling of rice wine are valuable sources of high quality protein that are appropriate for supplementing feeds of lower nutritional density such as rice bran and forages.

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