Effects of particle size and lipid form of corn on energy and nutrient digestibility in diets for growing pigs

Objective Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of corn particle size and lipid form on the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy and nutrients in diets for growing pigs. Methods In Exp. 1, thirty barrows (initial body weight [BW], 53.1±3.9 kg) were allotted to 1 of 5 diets formulated with 96.9% corn ground to 441, 543, 618, 659, and 768 μm, respectively. In Exp. 2, thirty-six barrows (initial BW, 54.7±3.6 kg) were allotted to 1 of 6 diets formulated by including 2% or 15% corn germ (CG 2 or CG 15), 1% or 6% corn oil (CO 1 or CO 6), 1% CO+2% corn germ meal (CO 1+CGM 2), or 6% CO+15% corn germ meal (CO 6+CGM 15), respectively. Results The ATTD of gross energy (GE) and the digestible energy (DE) in diet and corn grain linearly decreased as the corn particle size increased (p