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The requirements of weaned piglets for a training period prior to a choice-feeding regime

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

J. A. Dalby ,
J. M. Forbes ,
M. A. Varley  and
S. Jagger
J. A. Dalby
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
J. M. Forbes
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
M. A. Varley
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
S. Jagger
Affiliation:
Dalgety Agriculture Ltd., 180 Aztec West, Almondsbury, Bristol BS12 4TH
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Abstract

The requirement for a training period prior to a choice feeding regime was assessed using 36 weaned piglets whose initial live weight was 6·2 (s.d. 1·21) kg. Two foods (H and L) were offered ad libitum as the choice and these were similar in energy but differed in crude protein (CP) concentration (291 g/kg and 155 g/kg fresh matter respectively). The pigs ivere subjected to one of three training treatments: treatment ALTERNATE allowed piglets the two foods separately on alternate days for 6 days, followed by a free choice of the two foods; treatment THREE allowed 3 days of one food followed by 3 days of the other prior to the free choice; treatment CHOICE gave the animals free choice immediately. Piglets on a fourth treatment, CONTROL, were given a single food M (242 g CP per kg fresh food) as a control. Weight gain (0·60, 0·59, 0·59 and 0·61 (s.e. 0·005) kg/day) and food intake (0·776, 0·752, 0·771 and 0·747 (s.e. 0·010) kg/day) did not differ significantly between treatments ALTERNATE, THREE, CHOICE and CONTROL respectively in the 19-day post-training period. A significant difference was seen in the protein consumption (0·145, 0·150, 0·139 and 0·177 (s.e. 0·005) kg/day). This together with a tendency for the proportion of food H selected to decline as the growth period progressed, indicated that newly weaned piglets are capable of regulating their protein intake when offered a free choice of two foods differing in their CP concentration, without a necessity for an initial training period.

Keywords

food preferencespigs
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 61 , Issue 2 , October 1995 , pp. 311 - 319
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1995

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