EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE OF PIGS FED STEAM-PELLETED RAPESEED MEAL DIETS

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Abstract
An experiment was conducted during the spring and summer months with 96 Yorkshire barrows and gilts, to study the effects of feeding corn-soybean meal (SBM), corn-SBM-Tower rapeseed (RSM) and corn-SBM-Candle RSM diets, in the form of mash and steam-processed pellets on average daily gain (ADG), efficiency of feed conversion (feed to gain ratio) F/G), average daily feed intake and carcass backfat thickness of pigs reared from 23 kg to 91 kg liveweight. Tower RSM or Candle RSM at the 15% level in corn-SBM based diets did not result in any adverse effects on ADG, feed intake or backfat thickness, but did increase F/G (P < 0.05). There were no differences in F/G between pigs fed Tower RSM and Candle RSM diets. Steam pelleting enhanced ADG (P < 0.01) and F/G (P < 0.05) across all three diets, but did not affect feed intake or backfat thickness. Barrows had higher (P < 0.01) ADG and backfat thickness than gilts, but did not differ in feed intake or F/G.