Evaluation of spray-dried cheese food as a supplemental protein source for weanling pigs

A growth study was conducted to determine the effects of substituting spray-dried cheese food for spray-dried plasma protein on weanling pig performance. Five dietary treatments included the control diet or diets with cheese food replacing 25, 50, 75, and 100% of the plasma on an equal lysine basis. Day 0 to 14 ADG and ADFI were decreased linearly as spray-dried cheese food increased. However, this decrease was most apparent when cheese food was included at more than 4% of the diet. No effects of cheese food inclusion were seen for F/G from d 0 to 14 postweaning or for growth performance from d 14 to 28 or from d 0 to 28 postweaning. These results indicate that spray-dried cheese food resulted in a linear reduction in ADG and ADFI. However, the growth reduction was not apparent until cheese food was included at more than 4% of the diet.