December 13, 2006

 

Dinnissen's Pegasus Vacuum Coater raises feed conversion in pigs
 

Press release
 

 

The Pegasus Vacuum Coater is one of Dinnissen Process Technology's success stories in the feed production market. Originally designed as a system for injecting liquids into pellets, it has developed into a sophisticated technology which allows producers to deal with a wide range of challenges and improvements when it comes to producing pellets and extruded products.

 

Recent studies have shown that the newest innovations developed using the Pegasus Vaccuum Coater are also yielding results. The use of expanded pig feed to which vitamins and enzymes have been added via a special technique using the Pegasus Vacuum Coater results in a 4 percent increase in feed conversion and a 4.4 percent improvement in piglet growth rate.

 

Dinnissen specialises in process technology for the feed, food, pharma and chemical sectors. As such, it has over 16 years of experience in adding liquids to pellets using vacuum technology. Over the years, Dinnissen has continued to develop its vacuum coating system with the aim of providing its customers with an ever-expanding range of new solutions.

 

As vacuum technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, it has become possible to inject fats, oils, enzymes and other micro-ingredients deep into the pellet homogeneously and with a very high degree of precision. One advantage of this technique is that it prevents the loss of ingredients which are essential to animal growth and which are often very expensive.

 

Another advantage of the Pegasus Vacuum Coater is that it enables application of a thin protective coating around each individual feed pellet. This solves a wide range of problems related to the breaking up and crumbling of pellets, the loss of expensive ingredients, and contamination of transport lines. Using this vacuum technology, Dinnissen can quickly add several layers of liquids to pellets and extruded products, which means that even relatively large quantities of fat, oil and other liquids can easily and quickly be injected into pellets.

 

Finally, the newest version of the Pegasus Vacuum Coater also makes it possible to automatically vary the strength of the vacuum, and hence to also easily vary the depth to which liquids are injected into the pellet. This makes it easier to carry out switches within a production line and makes production processes much more flexible. It also enables production of small amounts of pellets according to specific product specifications in line with the customised wishes of individual pig farmers.

 

During the previous year, Dinnissen Process Technology worked together with a feed producer in using the Pegasus Vacuum Coater to improve results obtained from various pig feeds. This application is rather unique and has never been used before in the production process for pig feed. The challenge was primarily to expand the feed in order to improve its digestibility, hence allowing the animal to utilise it more efficiently.

 

Another challenge was to add the vitamins and enzymes, which are so essential to piglet growth and health, as accurately as possible. It was also necessary to inject the vitamins and enzymes only after the heating process was completed in order to ensure that these crucial components retained their full activity.

 

Other important factors included the injection of essential vitamins and enzymes deep into the pellet and finishing the pellets off with a thin protective layer to ensure that none of the vital ingredients would be lost during transport and within the feeding installation. The Pegasus Vacuum Coater played a critical role in the latter processes.

 

During the last six months, a study was conducted on the use of piglet feed which had been upgraded via the Pegasus Vaccuum Coater. The study was carried out at three different farms with a total of 500 piglets. Its primary focus was to determine the effect of expanded weanling feed and vitamins and enzymes added via the special technique using the Pegasus Vacuum Coater. Variables measured included feed conversion, growth, piglet health and uniformity, feed consumption and consistency of manure.

 

The study started with weaned piglets weighing seven to eight kilograms each. The piglets were given the new type of weanling feed every five days, after which they were given the new expanded piglet feed for a period of three weeks. A control group of piglets was given traditional feed containing exactly the same ingredients as the expanded feed.

 

Results showed that piglets ate the improved type of feed at the same rate as the traditional feed, but that the new feed clearly resulted in better piglet growth. This can be explained by a significantly improved intake of essential nutritional ingredients from the feed.

 

In addition, the piglets fed with the new type of feed produced manure of a better consistency, and uniformity of the piglets, which were quite similar at the start of the study, also remained constant during the study.

 

Pig farmers participating in the study were enthusiastic about the results. They noticed a striking difference in colour between the different piglet groups. Piglets fed with the new type of feed were more pinkish and had more hair. In addition, this group did not have any diarrhoea problems, whereas piglets fed with the traditional feed did have diarrhoea problems to a limited extent.

 

Piglets fed with the new feed did not have to be treated with medicines, and there was also less feed waste. The final conclusion drawn from the study was that piglets fed with the new type of feed, produced using the expander and the Pegasus Vacuum Coater, showed a 4 percent improvement in feed conversion and a 4.4 percent improvement in growth.

 

Several other firms have also reported positive results by adding enzymes and vitamins according to the method described above.

 

For more information on the addition of micro-ingredients via the Pegasus Vacuum Coater, please contact Henri Michiels van Dinnissen at +31-77-4673555.