The effect of pelleting feed supplemented with lysine on its utilization by young pigs

The aim of the experiment was to study the effect of pelleted and meal-form of a diet supplemented with lysine on passage rate through the digestive tract (DT) and utilization by young pigs. The experiment was carried out on 20 young boars of about 10 kg live weight, divided into 3 groups. The experimental diet composed of feeds of plant origin (barley 80.0%, sesame meal 10.6%, soybean meal 7.0%; total crude protein 15.3%) and supplemented with L-lysine to total level of 0.8% was fed twice daily as: a) a meal mixed with water (group I), b) dry meal (group II), c) pellets (group III). The experiment lasted 51 days including the last 6 days for nitrogen balance. On the first day of the collection period 3% Cr2O3 was included in the first meal to estimate the passage rate of feed. The average body weight at the end of the experiment was similar in group I and II (29.7 and 28.5 kg) but significantly lower as compared to group III (31.7 kg). Differences between the groups in the growth rate were higher during the first than the last period of the experiment. Pelleting reduced feed consumption per kg gain by about 12%. It was calculated that the increase in the live weight in group III could be attributed to the deposit of both protein and fat in the body. Large individual differences were observed in the rate of passage through DT and this probably effected the lack of significant differences between the groups.