Effects of an enzyme blend in diets of different nutrient density fed to nursery pigs

Lay Summary Weanling pigs do not have sufficient enzymatic capability to digest all dietary components, especially those from plant-derived ingredients. An enzyme blend containing carbohydrases and protease was added to a corn-soybean meal-based diet or one containing corn-soybean meal and various by-product ingredients. The by-product containing diets were formulated to contain less energy and amino acids to determine if the added enzyme would improve growth performance, gut health, and nutrient digestibility. Pigs fed corn-soybean meal-based diets had improved growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility of some nutrients compared to pigs fed corn-soybean meal-by-product diets. The addition of an enzyme blend did not improve digestibility and had no effect on overall growth performance.