FEEDING THE FINISHING PIG

60% of feed cost is in finishing 0.1 FCR around £10/tonne feed cost or  1.6p/Kg 0.1 FCR  5%

Two Studies Pig weight & diet change - Performance & change of diet Variation & change of diet Wet vs Dry feeding

PERFORMANCE AND CHANGE OF DIET

Growth Curves of Pigs

Methods Five treatments Eight replicates 15 pigs in pen balanced for weight and gender Diet Grower CP 18.5% Lysine 1.25% DE 14.6 MJ/kg Finisher CP 17.0% Lysine 1.0% DE 13.8 MJ/kg

Treatments Transfer weight from Grower to Finisher 40 50 60 70 +ve 40kg 50kg 60kg 70kg Only grower – no change of diet

Performance of pigs moving from grower to finisher at different weights 40 50 60 70 +ve Sed Quad Feed Intake (g/d) Growth rate (g/d) FCR 2454 975 2.52 2475 998 2.48 2567 1061 2.42 2495 1031 2.41 2458 1048 2.35 36.38 21.95 0.055 NS <0.05 <0.01 P2 (mm) 13.8 13.9 13.2 14.3 0.46

Nutrient intake comparison 40 +ve Growth Rate (g/d) FCR 975 2.52 1048 2.35

Nutrient intake comparison 40 +ve Growth Rate (g/d) FCR 975 2.52 1048 2.35 Feed intake (g/d) Energy Intake (MJ/d) Lysine Intake (g/d) 2454 33.8 24.5 2458 35.9 30.7

Growth Curves of Pigs

Economics 40 50 60 70 +ve Start Wt. (kg) Diet change End Wt. (kg) 38.77 115.4 35.87 50.18 115.8 36.39 62.49 120.4 36.45 72.69 117.8 37.28 NA 119.12 Grower Growth Rate (g/d) FCR 1101 1.85 1135 1.84 1060 2.11 1048 2.35 Finisher Grower rate (g/d) 975 2.52 993 2.58 1040 2.64 1018

Economics 40 50 60 70 +ve Start Wt. (kg) Diet change End Wt. (kg) 38.77 115.4 35.87 50.18 115.8 36.39 62.49 120.4 36.45 72.69 117.8 37.28 NA 119.12 Grower Growth Rate (g/d) FCR 1101 1.85 1135 1.84 1060 2.11 1048 2.35 Finisher Grower rate (g/d) 975 2.52 993 2.58 1040 2.64 1018 Cost/kg gain 50.4p 50.0p 49.6p 50.9p 54.0p * £30 differential between grower and finisher

VARIATION AND CHANGE OF DIET

Design Factorial design: High weight variance in pen Low weight variance in pen Single diet: CP 17%, Lysine 1.0%, DE 14.0 MJ/kg Phase diet: 12-18 wks CP18%, Lysine 1.1%, DE 14.2 MJ/kg 18 to slaughter CP16%, Lysine 0.9%, DE 13.8MJ/kg Single diet Phase (2 diets) Single diet Phase (2 diets)

Performance of pigs on single or two phase diets with high or low weight variance Single Diet High weight variance Low weight variance Low weight variance S.e.d. P 12 week Wt. (kg) Final Wt. (kg) 40.8 116 40.9 114 41.3 113 40.5 117 0.231 NS Feed Intake (g/d) Growth Rate (g/d) FCR 2231 910 2.45 2136 893 2.40 2190 896 2195 922 2.38 61.69 24.94 0.046

Variation using single or phase diets

WET Vs DRY FEEDING

8 Replicates of 15 pigs Start weight 35 kg Diet CP 17.5% Lysine 1.0% DE 13.8 MJ/kg Water ratio 3:1

Finishing Pens

Performance on Wet & Dry Feed

Performance of Wet vs Dry S.e.d. P Weight (kg) Day 0 Finish 36.5 109.6 36.6 107.0 1.39 1.78 NS Feed Intake (g/d) Growth Rate (g/d) FCR 2458 895 2.75 2255 854 2.64 64.07 21.93 0.08 <0.01 <0.1

Slaughter performance of Wet vs Dry S.e.d. P Live finish weight (kg) Probe (mm) Cold weight (kg) KO% 110.9 11.6 86.40 77.98 109.3 11.7 87.32 79.94 1.626 0.460 1.003 0.804 NS <0.05

Slaughter performance of Wet vs Dry S.e.d. P Live finish weight (kg) Probe (mm) Cold weight (kg) KO% 110.9 11.6 86.40 77.98 109.3 11.7 87.32 79.94 1.626 0.460 1.003 0.804 NS <0.05 Carcass FCR 3.53 3.23 0.084 <0.001

Economics of Wet Vs Dry Wet Dry Start weight (kg) End weight (kg) KO% 36.5 109.6 78.0 36.6 107.0 79.9 Carcass gain (kg) Carcass FCR 57.0 3.53 56.3 3.23 Value of carcass gain @ £1.15 £65.55 £64.75 Cost per kg carcass gain 70.6p 66.5p * £6 added to dry for pelleting costs

Conclusions It pays to feed grower to 60 kg liveweight Diet change does not reduce variation Pigs grow faster on ad lib wet feeding Carcass FCR is 8% better on dry pellets vs wet

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS