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A note on the effects of the ratio of protein to digestible energy and digestible energy concentration in the diet on performance and nitrogen metabolism of piglets weaned at 21 days of age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

M. J. Newport
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading RG2 9AT
H. D. Keal
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading RG2 9AT
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Abstract

Piglets were weaned at 21 days of age, and given diets containing 13·5 or 17·0g crude protein per MJ digestible energy and either 14·7 or 16·8 MJ digestible energy per kg in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment until 56 days of age. There was no effect on performance or food intake when the diets were offered ad libitum, but energy intake was increased with the higher concentration of dietary energy. The higher levels of both protein and energy improved performance in a metabolism experiment with food intake restricted to 0·80 of ad libitum intake, and the higher protein level increased nitrogen retention (g/day per kg live weight) and plasma urea nitrogen. These results suggest that the level of food intake can affect the response to changes in dietary energy and protein concentrations, and indicate that conclusions from metabolism experiments using restricted feeding may be inappropriate under other conditions.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1982

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References

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