A Comparison of Phosphorus from Different Sources for Growing and Finishing Swine

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Abstract
Two replicates of 18 pens of 4 pigs each (total 144 pigs) were fed in concrete dry lot to determine (1) the utilization by swine of P from plant material and from various high P supplements and (2) the effect of chlortetra-cycline upon the utilization of this P. Dietary level of Ca and P was maintained at 0.7 and 0.5%, respectively. Evaluating criteria were rate of gain, feed efficiency, and breaking strength, weight, ash and fluorine content of bone, and P and Ca, content of the femur-ash. A comparison of feeding soft phosphate with colloidal clay with either steamed bonemeal or dicalcium phosphate resulted in a significant decrease in rate of gain, feed efficiency and breaking strength of femurs, accompanied by a significant increase in femur ash and an increase in F content of the femurs from pigs receiving the colloidal clay. There was no significant difference in the P content of bone ash or blood serum attributable to the type of P supplement. It appeared that a potential F toxicological hazard was in the realm of possibility when colloidal clay was used as the P source for the pig. Growing-finishing swine did not utilize plant P as efficiently as inorganic P, as evidenced by a significant linear increase in average daily gains and feed efficiency when P from plant sources was decreased from 0.50 to 0.35 to 0.20% of the total ration, with inorganic P added to maintain 0.5% P in the ration. Data indicated that at least 30% of the dietary level of P for growing swine should be furnished by an inorganic source, which preferably possesses no potential toxicological qualities.

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