Optimal dietary standardized ileal digestible lysine level for pigs during the grower, early and late finisher periods

An Evaluation of Paddy Rice as an Alternative Energy Source in Protein-Restricted Diets for Growing, Early-Finishing, and Late-Finishing Pigs

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate paddy rice as an alternative energy feedstuff in low-protein diets for pigs. In Experiment 1, a total of 400 growing pigs (20.68 ± 0.29 kg initial bodyweight), were randomly allocated four dietary treatments with 0, 10, 15, and 20% paddy rice for 30 days. Feeding 10% or 15% paddy rice had no adverse impacts on average daily gain (ADG) and feed to gain ratio (F:G), while the inclusion of 20% rice in diets significantly influenced the growth performance of pigs. In Experiment 2, 364 early-finishing pigs (42.25 ± 0.47 kg) were divided into four treatments with 0, 15, 20, and 25% paddy rice for 35 days. Feeding 15% or 20% paddy rice had no negative consequences on growth performance, while pigs fed with 25% rice had the lowest ADG and the greatest F:G. In Experiment 3, 364 late-finishing pigs (79.52 ± 1.28 kg) were divided into four treatments with 0, 20, 25, and 30% paddy rice for 60 days. Paddy rice can be included at up to 30% in diets without compromising growth performance, while feeding with 25% rice significantly improved the performance for pigs compared with the corn-fed control.

Standardized ileal digestible tryptophan and lysine affects the eating and sleeping behavior of 15-30 kg barrows

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of standardized ileal digestible (SID) tryptophan (Trp) and lysine (Lys) levels on eating and sleeping behavior and the respective feed intake of barrows. Sixty-four pigs, averaging 15.00 ± 1.63 kg of initial body weight, were used and distributed in a randomized blocks design, in a 4 × 4 factorial scheme, consisting of four levels of SID Trp (0.155, 0.185, 0.215, 0.245%) and four levels of SID Lys (0.972, 1.112, 1.252, and 1.392%). Behavior evaluation was performed by an instantaneous sampling using 10-min intervals during 24 h, at each 7 days (days 7, 14, and 21), and each day was divided into four times of 6 h each one (08:30-14:20, 14:30-20:20, 20:30-02:20, and 02:30-08:20 h), during all the experimental period, yielding a total of 3 × 24 h behavior recordings (72 h) × 6 10-min intervals, totalizing 432 observations per animal. Data were analyzed by classifying behavior into eating or sleeping. All these behaviors were measured in order to obtain the estimated frequency of the eating and sleeping behaviors. Changes were observed (P<0.05) for all the behavioral parameters during the starting phase. SID Trp and SID Lys showed an interactive positive effect on the estimated frequency of eating behavior, and mainly SID Trp increased the estimated frequency of the sleeping behavior of starting pigs in the nocturnal time. Pig diets with increasing levels of SID Trp and SID Lys until 0.245 and 1.392%, respectively, increased the average daily feed intake, and the interaction of the amino acids increased the estimated frequency of eating behavior during all the starting phase, and mainly the increasing levels of SID Trp increased the estimated frequency of sleeping behavior of pigs from the middle to the end of the starting phase, from 2:30 to 8:20 h.