Porcine somatotropin (pST) administered using a commercial delivery system improves growth performance of rapidly growing, group-housed finisher pigs

2002 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 287 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. R. Dunshea ◽  
M. L. Cox ◽  
M. R. Borg ◽  
M. N. Sillence ◽  
D. R. Harris

Porcine somatotropin (pST) treatment of pigs consistently improves average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). However, most studies have been conducted with individually housed pigs, of unimproved genotype and over a lighter finisher phase than current practice. The present study was designed to determine whether a commercial pST (Reporcin) treatment regime would improve growth performance in heavy boars and gilts (initial weight 79 kg) of an improved genotype and housed under commercial conditions. The 2 2 factorial experiment involved 160, 19-week-old Large White Landrace pigs (80 males and 80 females) in 20 pens of 8 pigs/pen. The respective factors were sex (boars and gilts) and dose of pST (0 and 5 mg/day). Pigs were fed a wheat-based diet formulated to contain 200 g crude protein, 10.2 g available lysine, and 14.6 MJ DE/kg to ensure that responses to pST and sex were expressed. Injections of pST were given daily for 28 days prior to slaughter using a commercial applicator designed for this purpose. Pigs were bled by venipuncture on days 7 and 28 of treatment and the plasma samples analysed for plasma urea nitrogen (PUN) and glucose. The degree of stomach ulceration at slaughter was assessed by a veterinary pathologist. Daily pST treatment increased ADG (P = 0.003), particularly in gilts, as indicated by the interaction (P = 0.015) between sex and pST. Thus, gilts treated with pST grew 23% faster than control gilts (1093 v. 1273 g/day), whereas the pST-treated boars grew only slightly faster (+2.5%) than control boars (1261 v. 1291 g/day). Feed intake was similar for boars and gilts and was decreased in both sexes by 10% during pST treatment. FCR was higher in control gilts than in boars and was improved by pST treatment. This was particularly evident in the gilts such that there was no difference in the FCR of pST-treated gilts and boars. Back fat at slaughter was reduced by 2.3 and 3.2 mm in boars and gilts treated with pST, respectively. The only stomach lesions observed were very minor in severity and there was no effect of pST on the proportion of pigs exhibiting stomach ulcers (7/80 and 9/79 for control and pST-treated pigs, respectively; χ2 = 0.31, P = 0.58) or visible possible injection site lesions (0/80 and 1/79; χ2 = 1.01, P = 0.31). The PUN response mirrored the effects of sex and pST on FCR. Indeed, there was a high correlation (R = +0.84, P < 0.001) between FCR and PUN. In conclusion, pST treatment of finisher pigs of an improved genotype and housed under simulated commercial conditions improved growth performance, decreased back fat, and negated sex differences.

2002 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 785 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. R. Dunshea

Thirty-two female crossbred pigs (initial weight 75 kg) were used in this experiment to investigate the effect of differing porcine somatotropin (pST) regimes on growth performance. Pigs were kept in individual pens and fed ad libitum a wheat-based diet formulated to contain 14.4 MJ DE/kg and 180 g ideal protein/kg. Treatments were daily injection with saline (Sal), daily injection with pST (5 mg) (D), bi-daily injection with pST (10 mg) (2D), and injection with pST (12 mg) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (MWF). On the days that pigs were not receiving pST they were injected with saline (0.5 mL). All pST regimes caused a reduction (P < 0.001) in feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR), although there was no significant effect on average daily gain. Feed intake decreased after the first injection and, for the D group, remained low and constant. Feed intake for the 2D group was also reduced but not to as great an extent as for the D group. Feed intake in the MWF group showed a clear temporal response, being low during the week but increasing over the latter part of the weekend. Thus, feed intake from Sunday until Monday mornings was 400 g greater (P < 0.001) than from Saturday until Sunday mornings. Therefore, it appears that the effects of pST on feed intake may be reduced when a 3-day interval is used between injections. Back fat was significantly reduced with all pST injection regimes, whereas estimated fat deposition was only significantly reduced in the D and 2D pigs. Plasma urea nitrogen was increased, whereas glucose was decreased during pST administration and the average concentrations of both metabolites during the first week of administration were strongly related (P < 0.001) to FCR over the full 3 weeks of the study (R = 0.733 and -0.683, respectively). Although daily injection with pST appears to give the greatest reduction in feed intake and fat deposition, an alternative pST injection regime involving less frequent pST injections can also improve growth performance similarly in finisher pigs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
M.L. Seshoka ◽  
P.J. Fourie ◽  
A.T. Kanengoni ◽  
I.M.M. Malebana ◽  
R.S. Thomas ◽  
...  

In this experiment, the effects were evaluated of various dietary inclusion levels of avocado oil cake (AOC) silage on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass characteristics in pigs. A mixture of 70% AOC, 25% wheat bran, and 5% sugarcane molasses was ensiled in 200 L drums for 90 days. It was then incorporated at 0%, 3% and 5% in the experimental diets. Twenty-seven Large White cross Landrace (LW x LR) weaner pigs, with an average live weight of 22 kg, were stratified by weight and randomly allocated to the three experimental diets (9 pigs/diet). Pigs were weighed individually each week throughout the trial. Daily feed intake, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion rates (FCRs) were recorded. A nutrient digestibility study was carried out on completion of the growth trial. At the end of the experiment, pigs were fasted for twelve hours and weighed to determine the final weight. The pigs were then slaughtered, and carcass samples were collected and analysed. The growth performance of pigs was not affected by diet, irrespective of fibre levels in the AOC silage. However, the addition of 3% AOC silage improved the digestibility of fibre fractions. The weights of the cold carcass, chops, and backfat thickness were reduced with AOC silage addition.


2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 796 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. R. Dunshea

Porcine somatotropin (pST) treatment of pigs consistently improves daily gain and feed conversion ratio but the daily injections involved can be problematic. The sulfhydryl compound cysteamine hydrochloride (CSH) increases somatotropin secretion in several species, possibly through inhibition of somatostatin secretion. Therefore, it is possible that dietary CSH supplementation may provide a dietary means of increasing pST secretion and improving growth performance in finisher pigs. Eighteen female crossbred (Large white × Landrace) gilts (59.2 kg) were allocated to one of three treatments with the respective factors being a control diet, dietary CSH (0.7 g/kg) and intramuscular pST (5 mg/day) for 5 weeks. After slaughter the whole half carcass was cut into primal cuts which were then dissected to a retail level into lean, fat, bone and rind. Over the first 2 weeks of the study daily gain was increased by both pST (+46%, P < 0.001) and CSH (+12%, P < 0.05) while feed conversion ratio was decreased by pST (–30%, P < 0.001) and CSH (–9.4%, P = 0.08) over this period. Over the entire 5 weeks there was a large and sustained increase in daily gain in pigs treated with pST (+38%, P < 0.001), while dietary CSH tended to cause a more modest increase in daily gain (+7.4%, P = 0.06). As a result, final liveweight (+10.6 and +2.0 kg, respectively) and carcass weight (+5.8 and +1.6 kg, respectively) were increased by pST and CSH. Back fat was decreased by both pST and CSH (–1.7 and 1.0 mm, respectively). Total dissectible tissue was increased by pST (+9.1%, P < 0.001) and CSH (+3.3%, P < 0.05). In pigs treated with pST, the increased tissue was primarily as lean (+11.1%, P < 0.008) and bone (+17.8%, P = 0.017), whereas an accumulation of non significant increases in lean, rind and bone was responsible for the increased dissectible tissue in the carcass of pigs supplemented with CSH. In conclusion, dietary CSH increased daily gain and carcass weight and decreased FCR and P2 backfat, with responses being most pronounced over the first 2 weeks of dietary supplementation and not as great as those caused by exogenous pST treatment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-54
Author(s):  
Nadezhda Palova ◽  
Jivko Nakev ◽  
Teodora Popova ◽  
Maya Ignatova

Abstract(An experiment with two groups of East Balkan pigs – castrated males (n=10) and females (n=10), was carried out to study the growth performance and fattening abilities of the animals from the weaning until slaughter. The pigs were included in the trial at 60 day age. The average live weight of the castrated males was 8. 65±1.08 kg and for the females, 8.5±0.62 kg.The pigs were reared using traditional technology, grazing on natural pastures in the Strandzha mountain, Bulgaria. In autumn, acorns were naturally present in their diet. According to the category, the animals additionally received ground organic feed (50% barley and 50% wheat). The trial lasted 304 days (from February to November, 2019). During this period the final live weight of the male castrated pigs reached 88.00 kg while that of the females was 84.4 kg. The difference, however, was not significant. Furthermore, no significant differences in the growth performance characteristics that could be attributed to the sex of the animals were observed. The average daily gain of both sexes tended to be lower in summer and higher in autumn. The feed conversion ratio was higher in summer. The animals showed high average daily weight gain at pasture when their live weight was over 50 kg.


2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. V. Rikard-Bell ◽  
J. R. Pluske ◽  
R. J. van Barneveld ◽  
B. P. Mullan ◽  
A. C. Edwards ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to investigate the performance and carcass responses of finisher boars and gilts offered a range of dietary lysine levels and three levels of dietary ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC). The study involved three experiments of 90 pigs each, totalling 270 individually penned pigs in a 2 by 5 by 3 factorial design comprising two sexes (gilts, boars), five levels of dietary lysine [0.40, 0.48, 0.56, 0.64, and 0.72 g available lysine per MJ of digestible energy (DE), respectively] and three RAC dose regimes (0, 5 and 10 mg/kg) for 28 days. An outbreak of pneumonia (Actinobaccilus pleuropneumonia) at Day 26 in Experiment 1 compromised Day 28 data; however, Day 21 data was considered suitable across all three experiments. The results indicate that 0.56 g available lysine/MJ DE is sufficient to maximise average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and carcass weight in gilts. Control boars indicated that ADG and FCR were not limited by the lysine : energy ratios fed in this study. Increasing levels of dietary lysine linearly increased ADG (P < 0.001), improved FCR (P < 0.001) and increased carcass weight (P = 0.001). Likewise, increasing dietary RAC further improved ADG (P = 0.001), FCR (P = 0.002) and carcass weight (P = 0.075) linearly. The critical lysine levels calculated for ADG and FCR in gilts fed diets supplemented with RAC were less than required for controls. Boars had higher critical lysine levels than gilts when supplemented with dietary RAC, and increasing dietary RAC increased critical lysine levels for ADG and FCR in gilts and boars. An interaction (P = 0.016) between dietary lysine and RAC occurred for FCR, such that the response to 5 mg/kg dietary RAC diminished in diets containing 0.64 g and 0.72 g available lysine/MJ DE; however, these diets elicited a response when supplemented with 10 mg/kg RAC. Responses in ADG, FCR and carcass weight to dietary RAC were noted when dietary lysine was at or below the current recommendations for RAC diets, and it was suggested that this may have been due to reduced efficiency of lysine utilisation due to chronic disease challenge. A Sex × RAC interaction (P = 0.027) occurred for carcass P2, indicating the higher RAC dose reduced carcass P2 in boars but not in gilts. When formulating finisher pig diets between 60 and 90 kg liveweight, consideration of the lysine : energy requirements for boars and gilts is needed in order to maximise ADG, FCR and carcass characteristics. When supplementing pigs with dietary RAC, a wide range of lysine : energy levels maybe employed; however, this is dependent on RAC inclusion level and probably herd health.


Author(s):  
V. Sravanthi ◽  
D. Suresh Babu ◽  
A. Anitha ◽  
P. Asha Latha

The behavioural pattern and growth performance of three groups of LWY piglets weaned at different ages was studied for six months. The first, second and third groups were weaned at 25, 40 and 56 days, respectively. The playing and huddling behavior was more in group 1 piglets. While fighting, standing, locomotion and tail biting behavior was more in group 2 piglets. Whereas the lying behavior was more in group 3 piglets. There was a significant difference (P is less than 0.01) among the three groups of piglets for all behavioral patterns. The post weaning weight (kg) gains reached 56.63 ± 0.41, 65.03 ± 0.36 and 63.09 ± 0.38 Kg for group 1, group 2 and group 3 respectively, at the end of study period. A significant difference (P is less than 0.01) was observed among the three groups for all the fortnightly interval body weights. The mean average daily gain for group 1, 2 and 3 was 0.33, 0.38 and 0.36 respectively. Significant difference (P is less than 0.01) had been observed between the groups for average daily gain. The present study had suggested that early weaning at 40days age was more advantageous than 25 days age and conventional 56days weaning age.


2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie A. l'Anson ◽  
Mingan Choct ◽  
Peter H. Brooks

Seventy-two individually housed, entire male (Large White × Landrace) weaner pigs (28 days; 7.4 ± 0.4 kg) were used in a 26-day feeding trial. The pigs were allocated to one of six treatments in a 3 by 2 factorial design. The factors were (1) steeping duration of liquid feed [0 (dry control diet), 1 or 24 h], and (2) enzyme supplementation (0 or 300 ppm xylanase). The basal diet was wheat-based (65%) and was formulated to be marginally adequate for pigs of this age, containing 14.5 MJ digestible energy (DE)/kg and 0.85 g available lysine/MJ DE. Feeding pigs liquid diets steeped for 1 h increased feed intake (61 g/day; s.e.d. 17; P < 0.05) and daily gain (70 g/day; s.e.d. 17; P < 0.05) and improved feed conversion ratio (1.16 versus 1.22; s.e.d. 0.03; P < 0.05) compared with pigs fed dry diets. Performance was not further improved by steeping for 24 h. The addition of xylanase to the diets had no positive effect on any of the performance measures and was associated with a significant (40 g/day; s.e.d. 14; P < 0.05) reduction in feed intake. These results provide no support for supplementing liquid diets for weaner pig diets with xylanase.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggy Palesa Mabena ◽  
Moses Ratsaka ◽  
Thobela Nkukwana ◽  
Ingrid Malebana ◽  
Douglas Nkosi

Abstract This experiment evaluated varying levels of Amarula (Sclerocarya birrea A. Rich) nut cake (ANC) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and carcass characteristics in pigs. Thirty Large White × Landrace (LW × LR) pigs were stratified by weight (average live weight of 20 ± 5 kg) and randomly allocated to the five experimental diets that contained 0 (control), 50, 100, 150 and 200 g ANC/kg DM. Each pig served as a replicate unit, housed individually. Bodyweight, feed intake, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded weekly throughout the trial period. On completion of the growth trial, following a 3-day adaptation, a nutrient digestibility study was conducted over 5 days. Thereafter, pigs were fasted for twelve hours, weighed, slaughtered, and carcass samples were collected for analysis. Feed intake was not affected by dietary treatment, but ADGs were reduced at ANC levels > 15%, resulting in poor FCR. Protein digestibility was reduced at ANC levels > 15%, while ether extract and fibre levels increased. Warm and cold carcass weights were lower at ANC levels > 15, with improved meat redness and lightness. It was concluded that ANC could replace SBM in the diet of growing pigs at less than 15% inclusion level.


Author(s):  
MM Rahman ◽  
NR Sarker ◽  
MA Alam

This study was carried out to evaluate the feeding effect of high yielding fodders (HYF) on feed intake and growth performance of growing Hilly Brown Bengal (HBB) goat. For this purpose, a feeding trail was conducted with 16 growing HBB kids (4 to 5 months) by dividing equally in four groups having four replicates for a period of 75 days. The goats in group T0 (control) received natural grass along with 101.30g concentrates and adlibitum cowpea hay, whereas in group T1, T2 and T3, only natural grass was replaced by BLRI Napier 3, BLRI Napier 4 and Ruzi fodder, respectively. Total dry matter intake (DMI), roughages DMI, crude protein intake (CP), body weight gain (kg), average daily gain (g) and forth night body weight gain (g/day) were studied. Results revealed that, DMI (288.39, 285.71, 293.48 and 301.35 g/day in group T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively), body weight gain (3.60, 3.74, 3.73 and 3.77 kg in group T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively), average daily gain (47.32, 49.16, 49.12 and 48.92 g in group T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively) and feed conversion ratio (6.2, 5.9, 6.0 and 6.1 in group T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively) of HBB kids were not differed significantly (P>0.05) for all the treatment groups. The DMI from roughages (196.2, 193.5, 201.3 and 209.2 g/day in group T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively) and CP intake (38.7, 42.1, 48.3 and 38.8 g/day in group T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively) were significantly varied (P<0.05), while highest CP intake was found in the treatment group T2. Forthnight body weight (g/day) was not significantly (P>0.05) gained with feeding of HYF for all the treatment groups. From this study, it can be concluded that, growing HBB kids could equally be supplied with either BLRI Napier 3 or BLRI Napier 4 or Ruzi fodder in addition to ad libitum cowpea hay for better voluntary feed intake and growth. Bang. J. Livs. Res. Vol. 27 (1&2), 2020: P. 73-81


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 249-258
Author(s):  
R. Stupka ◽  
J. Čítek ◽  
K. Vehovský ◽  
K. Zadinová ◽  
M. Okrouhlá ◽  
...  

The study objective was to evaluate the effect of immunocastration in the period between the first and second vaccinations and subsequently between the second vaccination and slaughter on growth performance, carcass composition, meat quality, and boar taint, and compare results in immunocastrated males (IC), uncastrated boars (UCM), surgically castrated barrows (CM), and gilts (FE). The study included 70 pigs of the Duroc × (Large White × Landrace) crossbreed. Upon the overall assessment of the selected fattening indicators (average daily gain, feed intake), significant differences between CM and the other groups were demonstrated. Meanwhile, no significant differences were found between the IC, UCM, and FE groups. In this test, immunocastrates showed no negative effect from the second vaccination in relation to those carcass value indicators evaluated in comparison with UCM and FE. CM showed adversely lower carcass value parameters compared the other groups. No significant differences in pH, meat colour, drip loss, shear force, and intramuscular fat were found. The values of these indicators obtained for IC converged with those measured in UCM and FE. It was demonstrated that immunocastration prevented the occurrence of undesired boar taint. Androstenone decreased by 77% and skatole by 71% in IC as compared to UCM.


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