Objective This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of feed processing and particle size on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass characteristics, and gastric health in growing-finishing pigs. Methods A total of 360 growing pigs (22.64±0.014 kg initial body weight [BW]) were allocated to 1 of 6 treatments with 6 replicates by BW and sex, and 10 pigs were housed in one pen in a randomized complete block design. The BW and feed intake were recorded to calculate growth performance. For the digestibility trial, a total of 24 barrows with an initial BW of 33.65±0.372 kg were split into 6 treatments with a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments were designed by a 2×3 factorial arrangement of treatments based on two main factors, particle size (600, 750, 900 μm) and feed form (mash and pellet) of diet. Experimental diets were formulated to contain the requirements of the NRC (2012). Results The BW and average daily gain were not changed by dietary treatments, and the feed intake of finishing pigs (wks 6 to 12) was increased when the pigs were fed a mash diet (p<0.05). For the overall period, the feed efficiency of pigs was improved with the pellet diet (p<0.01) and reduced particle size (p<0.05). The pellet diet had effects on increasing crude fat digestibility (p<0.01) relative to a mash diet, but there was no considerable change in dry matter and crude protein digestibilities by dietary treatments. In the evaluation of gastric health, a trend for an increased incidence of keratinization in the esophageal region was observed as particle size decreased (p = 0.07). Conclusion Feed efficiency could be improved by pellet diet and reduced particle size. Nutrient digestibility, carcass characteristics, and gastric health were not affected by feed form, and particle size ranged from 600 to 900 μm.

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The objective of this study was to determine the digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) concentrations in high-fiber ingredients fed to growing pigs. Twelve barrows with an initial body weight of 57.5 kg (SD = 5.7) were individually housed in metabolism crates. A replicated 6 × 3 incomplete Latin square design with 12 animals, 6 experimental diets and 3 periods was employed. A basal diet was composed of 75.0% corn and 22.7% soybean meal (SBM) as the sole energy sources. Four experimental diets were prepared by replacing 40% of corn and SBM with soybean hulls (SH), corn gluten feed (CGF), wheat bran (WB), or rice bran (RB). An additional diet was prepared by replacing 10% of corn and SBM with cashew nut hulls (CNH). Each period consisted of a 4-d adaptation period and a 4-d collection period, and the marker-to-marker procedure was used for total collection of feces and urine. The DE and ME values in RB (3,969 and 3,936 kcal/kg DM) were greater (P &lt; 0.05) than those in CGF (2,654 and 2,520 kcal/kg DM) and SH (2,492 and 2,541 kcal/kg DM) and the energy values in WB (3,162 and 3,118 kcal/kg DM) were not different from those in RB, CGF, or SH. The DE and ME values in CNH (350 and 572 kcal/kg DM) were less (P &lt; 0.05) than those in all other test ingredients. In conclusion, energy concentrations in RB were greatest among the high-fiber test ingredients, whereas CNH had the lowest values.