Reproductive Performance, Milk Composition, Blood Metabolites and Hormone Profiles of Lactating Sows Fed Diets with Different Cereal and Fat Sources (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Cereal grains (corn and wheat) are the main dietary sources of carbohydrates for humans and animals (Yin et al., 2004). The chemical composition of cereals and cereal byproducts includes high levels of starch, which is a major energy source of swine production systems (Huang et al., 2003). Although corn is the most widely utilized energy source in the swine industry, there are many suitable alternatives that can be used to meet the nutritional requirements of swine with the aim of reducing feed cost (Jones et al., 2002). One such alternative is wheat (Myer et al., 1999). Bryant et al. (1985) observed superior breeding and farrowing performance in sows fed corn-based diet than sows fed wheat-based diet, while no differences were detected in the lactation performance of sows fed with either corn or wheat-based diet from early gestation until the end of lactation. Similarly, Nyachoti et al. (2006) also did not notice any difference in sow and piglet performance when sows were fed either corn or wheat-based diet during lactation.