A note on the diets selected by boars given a choice between two foods of different protein concentrations from 44 to 103 kg live weight
- 1 February 1993
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Animal Science
- Vol. 56 (1) , 151-154
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003356100006279
Abstract
Ten Large White × Landrace boars at an initial live weight of 43 kg were given free access to two isoenergetic foods with 119 (L) and 222 (H) g crude protein (CP) per kg food as a choice, for 54 days. Six more similar boars were given access to food H only. The diet selected by the choice-fed pigs (measured as the proportion of food H per kg total food intake) changed systematically with time; the CP content of the selected diet fell from 193 in the first 7 days to 146 g CP per kg food in the last 7 days. The performance of the choicefed pigs, over the 54-day period, was as good as that of those given food H only: live-weight gain was 1101v.1069 g/day and food conversion efficiency 0·380v.0·374 g gain per g food respectively. However, the choice-feeding system allowed boars to reduce the protein content of their diet as they grew. It is suggested that it might be possible to give pigs a choice between two appropriate foods during the whole growing-fattening period instead of frequently changing the composition for their single food in order to try to meet their requirements.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Diet selection in growing pigsBSAP Occasional Publication, 1989