Supplemental dietary fat increases growth performance of grower and finisher pigs

摘要

Supplemental fat is routinely included in young pig diets but often removed with increasing weight to match the perceived declining need for high energy as pigs grow and thus to prevent excessive fat deposition during finishing. However, recent results suggest that early positive effects on growth may be lost if fat is removed from subsequent diets and that, for reasons yet to be established, older pigs may be more responsive to supplemental fat than younger pigs (Campbell, 2005). This project was designed to characterize the effects of added fat on performance, carcass quality and the possible mechanisms of why the pig responds like it does to added fat. A total of 288 pigs (144 boars and 144 gilts; 30 kg) in pens of 12 were offered diets containing 0%, 4% and 8% added fat for five weeks followed by the diets containing 0% or 4% added fat for the subsequent five weeks. The diets were formulated to contain 13.5,14.3 and 15.2 MJ DE /kg, respectively. The amino acid:DE ratio was maintained constant in all diets. Live weight and feed intake were measured weekly. Pen growth performance and carcass data were analyzed by analysis of variance.