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Influence of Percent Oats in the Diet, Lysine and Methionine Supplementation and of Pelleting on Rate and Efficiency of Gain of Growing Pigs, and on Carcass Characteristics¹

University of Minnesota, St. Paul

Abstract

Two hundred forty growing pigs were used in two experiments to evaluate the effects of replacing 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% of the corn in typical corn-soybean meal diets with oats, of lysine and methionine supplementation and of pelleting on rate and efficiency of gain. One hundred ninety-six pigs were slaughtered to determine the effects of treatments on carcass characteristics.

In one experiment rate of gain was decreased significantly due to the use of 40% oats in the diet, but oat level was without significant effect in the second study. Efficiency of feed utilization decreased in both experiments with increasing oat content of the diet. Supplementation of the diets with 0.15% L-lysine and 0.10% DL-methionine, alone and in combination, did not affect rate and efficiency of gain. Pelleting of the diets in the second experiment did not influence rate of gain, but did result in a significant decrease in feed required per unit of gain.

Carcass leanness as measured by backfat thickness, cross-sectional area of the longissimus dorsi muscle, and percent four trimmed lean cuts or percent trimmed ham and loin of slaughter weight was not improved by any of the dietary treatments, nor was it affected adversely by pelleting. Dressing percent decreased with increasing oat content of the diets. Gilts had significantly larger cross-sectional area of the longissimus dorsi muscle and greater yields of the four trimmed lean cuts and of trimmed ham and loin than barrows.

¹ Paper No. 5665 of the Scientific Journal Series of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, St. Paul, Minnesota.

² Present address: Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.

³ Superintendent, Northeast Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota.

⁴ Acknowledgement is due Elliott Packing Company, Duluth, for cooperation extended in collection of carcass data; Louis Hansen, William Horstman and associates fed and cared for the pigs; James Nordstrom and M. E. Tumbleson performed many of the statistical computations; and the following firms supplied essential dietary components: Merck Sharp and Dohme, Research Laboratories, Rahway, N. J.; Chas. Pfizer & Co., Inc., Terre Haute, Ind.; and Standard Brands, Inc., New York, N. Y.