The large appetite of dry sows generally leads to an excessive nutrient intake when they are fed ad libitum. A previous experiment showed that only a diet with high levels (650g/kg) of unmolassed sugarbeet pulp (SBP) was able to reduce voluntary food intake (VFI) to an acceptable level when several high fibre diets were fed ad libitum to dry sows. This paper reports the results of 2 experiments designed to investigate which parameters affect VFI of diets containing high levels of SBP.

In the first experiment, 4 diets with increasing levels of SBP (400, 500, 580, and 650 g/kg; diet 40, 50, 58, and 65 resp.) were formulated by substituting SBP for barley, giving a similar crude protein concentration, but allowing the DE to decrease with increasing SBP level. To a fifth diet (diet oil) containing 650 g/kg SBP extra vegetable oil was added to increase the DE to the same level as in diet 40. The diets were fed ad libitum to 40 sows, 8 sows on each diet, during a 3 week period in late gestation.