Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T03:07:49.022Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Replacing starch with fat in the diet is more effective at enhancing overall performance in finisher than grower pigs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2015

G. BROOKE ,
A. C. EDWARDS ,
J. R. PLUSKE ,
G. S. HOWARTH ,
R. G. CAMPBELL  and
F. R. DUNSHEA
G. BROOKE
Affiliation:
Cooperative Research Centre for High Integrity Australian Pork, Roseworthy Campus, The University of Adelaide, SA 5371, Australia School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
A. C. EDWARDS
Affiliation:
A.C.E. Livestock Consulting P/L, Cockatoo Valley, SA 5351, Australia
J. R. PLUSKE*
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
G. S. HOWARTH
Affiliation:
School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Roseworthy Campus, The University of Adelaide, SA 5371, Australia
R. G. CAMPBELL
Affiliation:
Cooperative Research Centre for High Integrity Australian Pork, Roseworthy Campus, The University of Adelaide, SA 5371, Australia
F. R. DUNSHEA
Affiliation:
Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The addition of supplementary fat to pig diets above current dietary recommendations has generally been viewed in a negative manner because it is considered that the surplus energy will be deposited into adipose tissue, and may therefore be detrimental to carcass value. The current study sought to investigate the effects of adding supplementary fat, in place of starch, to increase the energy density of male and female pig diets on growth performance and carcass quality. A total of 288 Large White × Landrace male and female pigs (boars and gilts) were randomly allocated to pens of 12 pigs each. The effects of (i) sex (gilts v. boars), (ii) added dietary fat level (as tallow; 0 v. 40 and 80 g/kg) and (iii) within added dietary fat level (40 v. 80 g fat/kg), were tested for a 5-week period (Period 1) (n = 4). These diets were formulated to contain 13·5, 14·3 and 15·2 MJ digestible energy/kg for 0, 40 and 80 g added fat/kg, respectively; the calculated standardized ileal digestible lysine content was kept constant at 8·8 g/kg of diet. Thereafter the experiment was designed to test for the same effects over a second 5-week period (Period 2), during which pigs from the initial three treatments were offered the diets with 0 and 40 g added fat/kg. Treatment effects were also assessed over the whole 10 weeks of the study. There was a positive linear effect of dietary fat supplementation in Period 1 on average daily weight gain, whereas dietary fat level in Period 1 had no effect on performance in Period 2, overall, or on carcass weight and P2 backfat thickness (i.e. thickness of fat at 65 mm down the left side from the midline, at the level of the head of the last rib) at 10 weeks. In contrast, supplementation of the diet with 40 g fat/kg during Period 2, regardless of the diet offered in Period 1, increased ADG in the second period and over the entire experiment. There were minimal effects of supplementary fat on feed intake in the entire experiment; however feed conversion ratio (FCR) was influenced by sex over the entire study and tended to be reduced by dietary fat supplementation in Period 2. The diet with 40 g added fat/kg fed in Period 2 increased carcass weight by an average of 2·8 kg and P2 backfat thickness by 1·2 mm. Collectively, the data from the current study suggest that dietary fat supplementation is more effective in finisher pigs than in grower pigs in terms of growth rate, FCR and carcass weight.

Type
Animal Research Papers
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 153 , Issue 6 , August 2015 , pp. 1107 - 1115
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

AOAC (1990). Official Methods of Analysis, 15th edn, Arlington, VA: Association of Official Analytical Chemists.Google Scholar
AOAC (2006). Official Methods of Analysis, 18th edn, Arlington, VA: Association of Official Analytical Chemists.Google Scholar
Apple, J. K., Maxwell, C. V., Rakes, L. K., Hutchison, S., Wallis, W. A., Stephenson, J. D. & Johnson, Z. B. (2005). Effects of dietary fat source and length of fat consumption on performance and carcass composition of growing-finishing swine. In Arkansas Animal Science Department Report 2005 (Eds Johnson, Z. B. & Kellogg, D. W.), pp. 30–34. AAES Research Series 535. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.Google Scholar
Azain, M. J., Bullock, K. D., Kasser, T. R. & Veenhuizen, J. J. (1992). Relationship of mode of porcine somatotropin administration and dietary fat to the growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing pigs. Journal of Animal Science 70, 3086–3095.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baudon, E. C., Hancock, J. D. & Llanes, N. (2003). Added fat in diets for pigs in early and late finishing. In Swine Day 2003: Report of Progress 920 (Eds Goodband, B., Tokach, M., Dritz, S. & De Rouchey, J.), pp. 155–158. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service.Google Scholar
Beaulieu, A. D., Williams, N. H. & Patience, J. F. (2009). Response to dietary digestible energy concentration in growing pigs fed cereal grain-based diets. Journal of Animal Science 87, 965–976.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benz, J. M., Tokach, M. D., Dritz, S. S., Nelssen, J. L., Derouchey, J. M., Sulabo, R. C. & Goodband, R. D. (2011). Effects of increasing choice white grease in corn- and sorghum-based diets on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and fat quality characteristics of finishing pigs. Journal of Animal Science 89, 773–782.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, R. G. (2005). Fats in pig diets: beyond their contribution to energy content. In Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition in Australia vol. 15 (Eds Cronjé, P. B. & Richards, N.), pp. 15–19. Armidale, NSW: University of New England.Google Scholar
Cera, K. R., Mahan, D. C. & Reinhart, G. A. (1988). Weekly digestibilities of diets supplemented with corn oil, lard or tallow by weanling swine. Journal of Animal Science 66, 1430–1437.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collins, C. L., Philpotts, A. C. & Henman, D. J. (2009). Improving growth performance of finisher pigs with high fat diets. Animal Production Science 49, 262–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De La Llata, M., Dritz, S. S., Tokach, M. D., Goodband, R. D., Nelssen, J. L. & Loughin, T. M. (2001). Effects of dietary fat on growth performance and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs reared in a commercial environment. Journal of Animal Science 79, 2643–2650.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De La Llata, M., Dritz, S. S., Tokach, M. D., Goodband, R. D. & Nelssen, J. L. (2007). Effects of increasing lysine to calorie ratio and added fat for growing-finishing pigs reared in a commercial environment: I. Growth performance and carcass characteristics. Professional Animal Scientist 23, 417–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dugan, M. E. R., Aalhus, J. L. & Robertson, W. M. (2003). Performance and carcass composition of pigs fed different levels of canola oil and tallow. Advances in Pork Production 14. Abstract #21.Google Scholar
Engel, J. J., Smith II, J. W., Unruh, J. A., Goodband, R. D., O'Quinn, P. R., Tokach, M. D. & Nelssen, J. L. (2001). Effects of choice white grease or poultry fat on growth performance, carcass leanness, and meat quality characteristics of growing-finishing pigs. Journal of Animal Science 79, 1491–1501.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, D. F., Thaler, R. C., Nelssen, J. L., Harmon, D. L., Allee, G. L. & Weeden, T. L. (1990). Effect of fat sources and combinations on starter pig performance, nutrient digestibility and intestinal morphology. Journal of Animal Science 68, 3694–3704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Madsen, A., Jakobsen, K. & Mortensen, H. P. (1992). Influence of dietary fat on carcass fat quality in pigs – a review. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A – Animal Science 42, 220–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NHMRC (2004). Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes, 7th edn, Canberra, Australia: National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.Google Scholar
Nichols, D. A., Nelssen, J. L., Hancock, J. D., Kropf, D. H. & Hines, R. H. (1991). Effect of fat source and level on finishing pig performance. In Kansas State University Swine Day 1991: Report of Progress (Eds Goodband, R. & Tokach, M.), pp. 90–93. Manhattan, KS: 641 Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service.Google Scholar
Øverland, M., Rørvik, K. A. & Skrede, A. (1999). High-fat diets improve the performance of growing-finishing pigs. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A – Animal Science 49, 83–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perez, V. G., Soltwedel, K. T., Radke, T. R. & Holzgraefe, D. P. (2014). Abstract #149: efficacy of a NSP enzyme blend EasyZyme to improve pig performance depends on dietary ME concentration. Journal of Animal Science 92 (Supplement 2), 66.Google Scholar
Pettigrew, J. E. & Moser, R. L. (1991). Fat in swine nutrition. In Swine Nutrition (Eds Miller, E. R., Ullrey, D. E. & Lewis, A. J.), pp. 133–146. Stoneham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quiniou, N. & Noblet, J. (2012). Effect of the dietary net energy concentration on feed intake and performance of growing-finishing pigs housed individually. Journal of Animal Science 90, 4362–4372.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stein, H. H., Hahn, J. D. & Easter, R. A. (1996). Effects of decreasing dietary energy concentration in finishing pigs on carcass composition (abstract). Journal of Animal Science 74 (Suppl.1), 65.Google Scholar
VSN International (2012). GenStat for Windows, 15th edn, Hemel Hempstead, UK: VSN International.Google Scholar
Williams, N. H., Cline, T. R., Schinkel, A. P. & Jones, D. J. (1994). The impact of ractopamine, energy intake, and dietary fat on finisher pig growth performance and carcass merit. Journal of Animal Science 72, 3152–3162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, M. G., Tokach, M. D., Dritz, S. S., Goodband, R. D. & Nelssen, J. L. (2003). Effect of added fat on performance of growing-finishing pigs in commercial conditions. In Swine Day 2003: Report of Progress 920 (Eds Goodband, R., Tokach, M., Dritz, S. & De Rouchey, J.), pp. 159–163. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service.Google Scholar