ENERGY UTILIZATION BY THE LACOMBE AND YORKSHIRE BREEDS OF PIG

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Abstract
A comparative slaughter trial involving 32 weanling pigs was conducted to estimate the energy requirements for maintenance and production and to compare the energetic efficiency of Lacombe and Yorkshire pigs. The coefficients of digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME), and ME/DE ratio were similar for the two breeds. The fasting heat production and energy requirements for maintenance of energy equilibrium for the Yorkshire pigs were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than for the Lacombe pigs. Differences in the efficiency of utilization of ME for the function of maintenance and for production were not significant. Estimates of net energy for maintenance and net energy for gain of the corn-soybean meal diet are presented. The study suggests that these net energy values, like the DE and ME values, may be used for diet formulation without need for correction for breed. The use of the exponent 0.56 rather than 0.75 as the reference base of metabolic body size led to increased precision, as indicated by higher estimates of the coefficient of determination.

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