D4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 22,1984
** ;JL by
* Kenneth B. Kephart
Extension Livestock Spec.
University of Del.
Molds and Mycotoxins
Depressed feed intake, below
normal growth rate, poor feed
efficiency, low milk production,
prolapsed rectums, abortions
these are just a few of the
problems associated with moldy
feed. If you’re lucky enough to see
one of the obvious signs, like an
aborted litter, you’ll know
something isn’t right. But if your
herd is experiencing slow growth
rates or inefficient feed con
versions, you may be the last to
know that these molds are eating
away at your profit potential.
What kinds of mold can lead to
problems in a swine herd? Before I
answer that, remember the
mold itself is not the problem. The
mycotoxins produced by the molds
are the real culprits. And whether
or not they develop will depend on
environmental conditions.
Here’s a list of the molds and
their respective mycotoxins that
can be an aggravation to the hog
producer.
Fusarium roseum. This is
usually referred to as Fusarium or
Giberella. It grows on virtually all
cereal grains, but is especially
found on com after a wet harvest
season. Fusarium produces
several toxins, but the two that
seem to cause the most damage for
hog farmers are zearalenone and
vomitoxin (deoxynivalenol). One
can be present with the other.
Zearalenone has a structure
similar to estradiol, the female sex
hormone. And it’s the “estrogenic”
properties of this mycotoxm that
can lead to abortions, stillbirths, or
swelling of the vulva or teats. You
can often spot zearalenone con
tamination by watching young
gilts closely. If the feed contains as
little as five ppm of zearalenone,
most or all of them will have red
valvas, swollen two to three tunes
normal size, as well as an enlarged
underline. In other words, they
look like they’re in heat, even
though they may weigh only 75
pounds.
Zearalenone also reportedly
irritates the lining of the rectum.
This leads to straining and
eventual prolapse or “blow-out” of
the rectum.
Vomitoxin, the other major
Fusarium mycotoxin, causes feed
refusal in pigs. When vomitoxin is
present, they’ll often stand in front
of the feeder and squeal, rather
than eat out of it. I’ve observed
pigs doing this when the feed
contained only 100 pounds of
contaminated com per ton. If
enough vomitoxin is consumed,
vomiting will follow. But the pigs
are more likely to just go hungry.
The odd thing about Fusarium is
that the affected com looks nor
mal You could send a sample to
the lab to confirm the presence of
mycotoxins. But when your sows
are aborting, young gilts have
swollen vulvas and your market
hogs are squealing at you when the
feeders are full you have all the
evidence you need.
What can you do about it? With
this mold, dilution is your only
alternative. Find some mold-free
com or other feed grain to mix
with the contaminated grain and
hope for the best. Sometimes it
takes a stiff dilution to get things
back to normal. And if at all
possible, avoid feeding moldy com
to sows and replacement gilts.
Aspergillus flavus. This is the
mold that produces aflatoxin, a
nasty compound that poisons the
liver. Drought induced stress,
inadequate nitrogen, delayed
harvest and physical damage
make conditions right for
Aspergillus invasion of grain in the
field. Improper drying and storage
will add to the problem.
Problems in pigs begin when
aflatoxin levels approach 500 parts
per billion. Some common effects
of aflatoxin poisoning include poor
growth rates and feed conversions,
impaired blood clotting, altered
immune response, depressed
vitamin A and E levels, impaired
kidney function. . the list goes on
and on. Fortunately, Aspergillus
doesn’t strike that often and most
problems are limited to the
Southeast
A blackhght test is often used to
screen for aflatoxin. This
procedure is the best method we’ve
got, but is has several drawbacks.
First, the greenish-yellow
flourescence it produces indicates
the presence of the Aspergillus, not
aflatoxin. Also, numerous weed
seeds, corn “bees wings”, and
soybean hulls can contribute to
false readings.
Ammonia treatment appears to
be the only effective means ot
removing aflatoxin from grain.
Organic acids don’t seem to help.
And normal heating associated
with drying or pelleting has no
effect on the toxin.
Claviceps paspali. This is the
mold that produces ergot and is
most often associated with rye.
Ergot contamination in swine feed
will depress feed intake, growth
rate, milk production and feed
conversion. It can also lead to
abortions. Since rye often contains
ergot, and because it’s not easily
digested by pigs anyway, swine
producers rarely feed this grain.
Mold Growth on Complete
Feeds. As soon as you grind, roll or
crack a feed grain, you open the
door to mold growth. The longer
that feed sits in the bin, especially
through the summer, the greater
the chance of mold growth.
Ideally, after mixing, feed should
be consumed within two weeks. If
you have feed sitting around for
more than a month, give serious
consideration to rescheduling feed
orders.
Is there anything you can do to
retard the growth of molds on
complete feeds? Texas Tech
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researchers recently reported that
“Mold Check Plus”, a product
containing several organic acids,
improves feed intake (five per
cent) and growth rate (six per
cent) in 16 pound weanling pigs.
And work from Leeds University in
England shows faster weight gains
with the addition of citric acid in
10-day-old weanling diets. So there
may soon be a place for mold
inhibitors in swine rations.
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Until Mav 1. 1985
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BENNETT
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1601 S. Dupont Blvd
Milford, DE
302-422-4837
NICHOLS FARM
EQUIPMENT
Bloomsburg. PA
717-784-7731
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February 1. 1985
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MILLER EQUIPMENT HINES EQUIPMENT
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RDI
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In summary, moldy feed will
seldom go through a pig without
causing some kind of a problem.
The signs may be obvious or they
may go unnoticed. The secret is to
keep your eyes on youf pigs and
their performance. Be aware of the
weather and storage conditions
that contribute to mold growth.
Early detection of mycotoxm
contamination can save you a lot of
dollars.
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G^HL.
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BINKLEY & HURST
BROS.
133 Rothsville
Station Road
Lititz, PA
717-626-4705
Cresson. PA
814-886-4183
Bellwood
814-742-8171