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Effect of Sex, Fat, Fiber, Molasses and Thyroprotein on Digestibility of Nutrients and Performance of Growing Swine¹

University of Hawaii, Honolulu

Abstract

Sixty-four pigs were used to study the effect of sex, thyroprotein, soybean oil, bagasse pith and blackstrap molasses on the performance, carcass measures and digestibility of feed by growing swine.

Gilts gained more slowly but generally required less feed per unit of gain. An exception to this was found on high-fat diets, in which case gilts required more feed per unit of gain than barrows. Thyroprotein added at the level of 88.2 mg./kg. feed had no effect on any of the variables measured. Soybean oil at a level of 10% of the diet lowered the feed required per unit of gain and increased backfat thickness and dressing percent but did not increase rate of gain. The correlation between length and rate of gain was –.42 in pigs on high-fat diets.

Adding bagasse to the diet lowered digestibility of protein, nitrogen-free extract and total dry matter. It increased feed required per unit of gain and decreased backfat thickness. Correlations between digestibility of dry matter and of protein to rate of gain were high only among pigs fed bagasse diets. Correlation of digestibility and carcass length was also high among pigs on these high-fiber diets. The correlation between length and rate of gain was 0.59 in pigs on bagasse pith diets. The difference in correlation of body length and performance between pigs on fat and fiber suggests an inherent difference in the ability of different type pigs to perform on the different type diets.

Pigs receiving molasses in the diet required 3.56 kg. feed per kg. gain as compared to 3.22 kg. required by the basal-fed pigs. Protein digestibility was decreased from 84.4% in the basal-fed pigs to 79.4% in the molasses-fed pigs.

¹ Published with the approval of the Director of the Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Hawaii, as Technical Paper No. 819.