• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1756-1760
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• 2016

Estimation of feed intake (FI) for individual animals within a pen is needed in situations where more than one animal share a feeder during feeding trials. A partitioning method (PM) was previously published as a model to estimate the individual FI (IFI). Briefly, the IFI of a pig within the pen was calculated by partitioning IFI into IFI for maintenance ($IFI_m$) and IFI for growth. In the PM, $IFI_m$ is determined based on the metabolic body weight (BW), which is calculated using the coefficient of 106 and exponent of 0.75. Two simulation studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that the use of different coefficients and exponents for metabolic BW to calculate $IFI_m$ improves the accuracy of the estimates of IFI for pigs, and that PM is applied to pigs fed in group-housing systems. The accuracy of prediction represented by difference between actual and estimated IFI was compared using PM, ratio (RM), or averaging method (AM). In simulation studies 1 and 2, the PM estimated IFI better than the AM and RM during most of the periods (p<0.05). The use of 0.60 as the exponent and the coefficient of 197 to calculate metabolic BW did not improve the accuracy of the IFI estimates in both simulation studies 1 and 2. The results imply that the use of $197kcal{\times}kg\;BW^{0.60}$ as metabolizable energy for maintenance in PM does not improve the accuracy of IFI estimations compared with the use of $106kcal{\times}kg\;BW^{0.75}$ and that the PM estimates the IFI of pigs with greater accuracy compared with the averaging or ratio methods in group-housing systems.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 1997

This research was carried out to determine the effect of dietary calcium(Ca) levels(low : 0.29, medium : 0.65 and high : 1.07%) on the digestibility, excretion and retention of nitrogen(N) phosphorus (P) in pigs fed diets supplemented with phytase(750U/kg). Twelve growing-finishing pigs(average body weight: 35kg) were divided into 3 groups and these pigs were reared in metabolism cage. After 10 days adaptation period, N and P balance experiments were carried out for 4 days. The results were summarized as follows ; 1. The High-Ca group was lower than the others in digestibility of P(Low-Ca and Medium-Ca group). 2. The amount of daily excretion of urinary N were 19.6g in Low-Ca group and 16.7g in high-Ca group. The High-Ca group was the lowest(22.71%/d) in the total N excretion. 3. The High-Ca group was the highest and the Low-Ca group the lowest in fecal P excretion. The urinary P excretions per day were 1.90g in Low-Ca group and 0.04g in High-Ca group. The medium-Ca group showed the lowest total P excretion(4.57g/d). 4. The N retention of the High-Ca group(20.50g) was greater than that of the Low-Ca group and Medium-Ca(5.02)g was the highest and the Low-Ca groups(3.92g) was the lowest in the P retention. These results indicate that dietary Ca level was an important factor influencing N and P utilization in pigs.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.216-220
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• 2004

To investigate the effect of feeding the fermented food wastes (FFW) on meat quality, twenty pigs produced from four treatments with different mixing rates of FFW [100% concentrate (control), 25% replacement with FFW (25% FFW), 50% replacement with FFW (50% FFW) and 100% fermented food wastes (100% FFW)] were slaughtered. Carcass characteristics were differentiated if FFW replacement rate was higher than 50%. The proximate compositions of hams and loins in control pigs were not different from (p>0.05) those of the FFW replacements, regardless of mixing rate of FFW replacement. Drip loss of pork loin increased (p<0.05) with increased rate of FFW replacement. Hunter color values were affected (p<0.05) by the FFW replacement and storage time, while not significantly changed (p>0.05) when replaced with lower than 25% FFW. With replacing more than 50% FFW, redness values tended to be decreased, while yellowness values increased. Aerobic plate counts (APC) were rapidly increased 12 d for the control and 8 d for FFW replacement, and microbial stability seemed to be lowered when the rate of FFW replacement rate was more than 50%. These results indicated that the replacement of concentrate diets with FFW was still nutritious feedstuffs for pig diet, however, no more than 50% FFW replacement was recommended to have similar effect to those with the control (100% concentrate).

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.233-244
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• 2010

This experiment was conducted to evaluate two different types of feed additive as an alternative for antibiotics on growth performance and feed cost in growing and finishing pigs. One additive is an herb extract, with Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) as the main component, while the other feed additive contains aminolevulinic acid (ALA). In the first experiment, 128 grower pigs were allotted to 4 different treatment groups and replicated 4 times with 8 pigs per replicate; the trial lasted for 28 days. The positive control group (PC) which is the control group supplemented with antibiotics was significantly higher (p<0.05) in growth rate (580.6 g/d) followed by the ALA group (532.0 g/d), there was no significant differences in terms of feed intake and feed efficiency. There were marginal reductions in feed costs measured as feed cost per head in ALA and HE added diet. However, the feed cost per weight gain of ALA treatment was higher than the control group (PC) supplemented with antibiotics. In the second experiment, 80 finisher pigs were allotted to 4 treatment groups and replicated 4 times with 5 pigs per replicate; the trial lasted for 70 days. The treatment group supplemented with an herb extract (HE) had a significantly higher (p<0.05) feed intake (2,415.8 g/d) compared to the other treatment groups, but there was no significant differences in terms of growth rate and feed efficiency. Feed cost per head in HE and ALA treatments were higher than PC treatment, and feed cost per weight gain of HE was higher than PC treat (p<0.05). The results from these experiments suggests that these two types of feed additives can both be used as an alternative for antibiotics without having a negative effect on the performance of the animals. And aminolevulinic acid was good in performance and production cost of grower and finisher pigs.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.147-154
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• 2001

An experiment was conducted to examine environmental influences upon the behavioral pattern of pigs. The resting areas of an enclosed growing-finishing pig house were checked in two seasonal ventilation systems, and the excretion habit of pigs influenced by the different closing rates (50, 75 and 100%) of side walls of pens was surveyed. 1. The excretion habit of pigs was not influenced by temperature, humidity and the flow speed of running air as they excreted in a fixed area of the side walls. However, the lighting effects on the excretion habit was observed because pigs excreted in the darkest area of the pig pen. 2. The accumulated height and width of feces showed 10 and 30 cm; 5 and 25cm; and 3 and 20cm for 50, 75 and 100% of closing rates of side walls, respectively. It indicates that pigs excrete all over the floor in the pen with 100% closed side walls. 3. Ammonia concentrations of the resting areas on the pen floor were determined to 4.2, 5.1 and $5.8mg/{\ell}$ for 50, 75 and 100% of closing rates of side walls, respectively. It indicates that the ammonia concentration was highest in the pen with 100% closed side walls. Thus, the high ammonia concentration of the resting areas could be reduced by illuminating the darker areas with relation to the excretion habit. 4. The flow speed of running air was likely the biggest factor influencing the resting areas of pigs; pigs took a rest at the place of 0.04 m/s air flow speed point during midwinter, and at the place of 0.24 m/s air flow speed point during midsummer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.597-607
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• 1998

Processing is generally employed to alter the physical and chemical properties of feeds used in pig diets, using hammer/roller mills, pellet mills and extruders/expanders. The reported optimum particle sizes of corn are approximately $500{\mu}m$, $500-700{\mu}m$, $400-600{\mu}m$, for nursery, growing-finishing, and breeder pigs respectively. Optimum particle size of grains are affected by diet complexity. There was a trend towards reducing particle size in order to increase ADG in pigs fed a simple diet, though such was not the case for pigs fed a complex diet. Uniformity of particle size also affects the nutritional values of swine feeds. Uniform particle sizes would consistently give greater nutrient digestibilities. In terms of pellet quality, it is reported that a higher incidence of fmes in pelleted feeds has a direct correlation with poorer feed conversion ratio in pigs. Particle and pellet sizes are also very important for pelleting in terms of grinding, digestibility, stomach ulceration and pellet durability. A particle size of $600{\mu}m$, or slightly less, seemed optimal for com in fmishing pigs, and the 5/32 in. diameter pellets supported the best efficiencies of gain during nursery and finishing phases. Extruder and/or expander processes would allow the feed industry an increased flexibility to utilize a wider spectrum of feed ingredients, and improve pellet quality of finished feeds. It would appear that extruded or expanded diets containing highly digestible ingredients have little effect on the growth performance of pigs, and the feeding values of the feeds over pelleted diets were not improved as pigs grew. The extruder or expander is much more effective than a pelletizer in salmonella control. Gastric ulcerations and/or keratinizations were consistently reported in pigs fed mash and processed diets containing finely ground grains, whereas carcass quality was not affected by diet processing methods such as pelleting, extruding or expanding. In corn- or sorghum-based diets, the electrical energy consumption is 4-5 times higher in the expanding than in the pelleting process. But the expander's processing cost was half of that shown by an extruder. Finally, the decision of which feed processing technology to adopt would depend on the processing cost, and any potential improvement in growth performance and digestibilities of nutrients should offset the increased operating and capital costs related to the extruder/expander technology over mash or pelleting processes in pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1785-1793
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• 2008

Fifty-four PIC barrows were used to evaluate the effects of lower dietary lysine content and energy level on carcass characteristics and meat quality in slaughter pigs. Pigs were allotted to one of three treatments by body weight with six replicate pens in each treatment. The dietary treatments for body weights of 20-50 kg, 50-80 kg and 80-90 kg were as follows, respectively: control diet (digestible energy 14.22 MJ/kg, lysine/DE 0.67 g/MJ, 0.53 g/MJ and 0.42 g/MJ); a low lysine group (digestible energy 14.22 MJ/kg, lysine/DE 0.49, 0.38 and 0.30 g/MJ); and a low lysine-low energy group or low nutrient group (digestible energy 13.11 MJ/kg, lysine/DE 0.49, 0.38 and 0.30 g/MJ). The daily weight gain, daily feed intake and feed efficiency were calculated in the overall growth period (nearly 12 weeks). Meanwhile, carcass characteristics and meat quality were evaluated at 60 and 90 kg body weight respectively. During the overall growth trial, lowering dietary lysine and nutrient level both decreased weight gain (p<0.05) and feed efficiency (p<0.01). At 60 kg body weight, decreasing dietary lysine and nutrient level noticeably decreased dressing percentage (p<0.01) and back fat depth at last rib of PIC pigs (p<0.01), but enhanced marbling scores (p<0.10), intramuscular fat content (p<0.10) and water loss rate (p<0.01) of the longissimus dorsi muscle. At 90 kg body weight, lean percentage (p<0.01) was evidently reduced by both lowering lysine content and nutrient level in the diet. However, the shoulder back fat depth (p<0.05) and marbling scores of the loin eye muscle (p<0.05) were increased; Lowering dietary nutrient level could improve back fat depth of 10th rib (p<0.01) and last rib (p<0.01), intramuscular fat content (p<0.10), redness (p<0.01) and water loss rate of the loin eye muscle (p<0.05), but decrease loin area (p<0.05). Finally, when comparing the 60 kg and 90 kg slaughter weights, it was found that the shoulder back fat depth (p<0.01, p<0.10), 6th-7th rib (p<0.01, p<0.01), 10th-rib (p<0.01, p<0.01) and last rib back fat depth (p<0.01, p<0.01) of the low lysine and low nutrient group were all obviously increased comparing with the control group. Taken together, the results showed that decreasing dietary lysine content and nutrient level increased intramuscular fat content and water loss rate of longissimus dorsi muscle; On the other hand, both lowering dietary lysine and nutrient level markedly compensated to increase back fat deposition in the later finishing period (body weight from 60 to 90 kg) in contrast to the control group.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.319-328
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• 2010

This work was carried out to investigate the quantity of excreta and its composition in crossbred pigs (Yorkshire ${\times}$ Landrace ${\times}$ Duroc) at different stages of growth. Twelve young piglets (average BW weight of $19.0{\pm}0.33kg$) were used in this study. Pigs were divided into four phases during growing time and two phases during finishing time. The average excreta production for growing pig was 3.46 kg/head/day (feces: 1.07 kg, urine: 2.39 kg). The average moisture contents of feces and urine were 70.54% and 97.39%, respectively. Contents of Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Plumbum, and Arsenic were 1.00%, 0.26%, 10.47 mg/kg, 2.43 mg/kg, and 1.02 mg/kg, respectively. The concentration of the water pollutants like Biochemical Oxygen Demand ($BOD_5$), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Suspended Solid (SS), Total Nitrogen (TN) and Total Phosphorus (TP), excreted from pig were 96335, 61073, 207466, 8104 and 4209 mg/L in feces and 7364, 7149, 2715, 10110 and 613 mg/L in urine at the end of test, respectively. The daily loading amount of water pollutants ($BOD_5$, COD, SS, TN, and TP, respectively) in pig excreta were 102.1, 61.8, 221.6, 8.7, and 3.9 g/head/day in feces, and 19.3, 16.7, 8.0, 22.2, and 1.3 g/head/day in urine, respectively. The Nitrogen, $P_2O_5$, and $K_2O$ contents in the excreta of pigs were 0.96, 0.83 and 0.42% in feces, and 0.80, 0.09 and 0.53% in urine, respectively. Finally, this work was suggested to give basic information to swine farms.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.355-368
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• 2003

In Exp. 1, this study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary germanium biotite on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in nursery pigs. A total of sixty crossbred pigs (initial body weight 15.09$\pm$0.18kg) were used in this experiment. This study was carried out for 28 days. The five treatments were control (CON; basal diet), GB0.1 (basal diet + germanium biotite 0.1%), GB0.3 (basal diet + germanium biotite 0.3%), GB0.6 (basal diet + germanium biotite 0.6%) and GB1.0 (basal diet + germanium biotite 1.0%). For overall period, ADG and Gain/feed were not significantly different among the treatments. In Exp. 2, a study was conducted to evaluate the effect of germanium biotite as a substitute for antibiotics in growing pigs. A total of fifty five crossbred pigs (initial body weight 32.47$\pm$0.9kg) were used in this experiment. The three treatments were negative control (NC: basal diet without antibiotic), positive control (PC: basal diet + 200ppm CTC) and GB0.3 (basal diet + germanium biotite 0.3%). Pigs fed PC (17%, 385 vs 451 g/d) and GB0.3 (14%, 385 vs 438 g/d) diets grew faster(P<0.05) than pigs fed NC diet. Pigs fed PC and GB0.3 diets resulted higher(P<0.05) ADFI than pigs fed CON diet. However, pigs fed GB0.3 diet had improved gain/feed compared to pigs fed NC diet(P<0.05). Apparent digestibility of DM and N by pigs fed PC and GB0.3 diets were greater(P<0.05) than those by pigs fed NC diet. In Exp. 3, a study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary germanium biotite on growth performance, plasma characteristics, backfat thickness and fecal ammonia gas concentration in finishing pigs. A total of seventy-two finishing pigs (initial body weight 78.56$\pm$1.32kg) were used in this experiment. The treatments included 1) Control (CON; basal diet) 2) GB1.0 (basal diet + germanium biotite 1.0%), 3) GB3.0 (basal diet + germanium biotite 3.0%). Pigs fed GB1.0 diet grew faster than pigs fed CON diet and GB0.3 diet (P<0.05). Also, pigs fed CON diet showed higher(p<0.05) ADFI than pigs fed GB3.0 diet. Pigs fed GB diets had improved gain/feed compared to pigs fed CON diet(P<0.05). Total?and VLDL concentrations in plasma of pigs fed GB diets treatments were significantly decreased compared to those in pig fed CON diet(P<0.05). However, HDL-cholesterol concentration in plasma of the pig was significantly increased compared to those in pigs fed CON diet (P<0.05). Pigs fed CON diet exerted higher(P<0.05) backfat thickness than pigs fed GB1.0 (5.4%, 27.19 vs 25.71mm) and GB3.0 (16.1%, 27.19 vs 22.81mm) diets. Feces from CON treatment were higher in fecal ammonia gas concentration than faces from pigs fed GB1.0 (64.1%, 17.00 vs 6.10mg/kg)and GB3.0 (61.8%, 17.00 vs 6.50mg/kg) treatments(P<0.05). In conclusion, the results suggest that the dietary addition of germanium biotite into diets for nursery pigs did not affect growth performance. The results also suggest the possibility of germanium biotite to replace antibiotic in diets for growing pigs. In finishing pigs, dietary supplementation of germanium biotite was an effective means for improving growth performance and for decreasing Total-and LDL+VLDL-plasma cholesterols, backfat and fecal ammonia gas concentration.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.219-228
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• 2003

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of dietary supplementation of yeast culture on the nutrient digestibility, performance and meat quality in growing-finishing pigs. Corn-soy basal diets contained 20, 18, and 16% CP and 3,265kcal/kg ME at different growth stages. One hundred and twenty pigs(8wk-old) were allocated into four supplementation levels of yest culture (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4%) in Expt 1. Weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency were periodically recorded for 112 days. A metabolic feeding trial was conducted to measure the nutrient digestibility. Physical and chemical characteristics of the Longissimus Dorsi muscle(LM) from the pigs were measured at the end of experiment (Expt 2). In Expt 1, weight gain and feed efficiency were not different among the dietary treatment groups during the overall period. The digestibilities of protein and fiber were greater in 0.1% and 0.2% yeast culture-supplemented groups than in control (P<0.05). However, fat and ash digestibilities were not improved by the dietary treatment. In Expt 2, the LM protein content in 0.1% yeast culture-supplemented group, but not in 0.2% or 0.4%-supplemented group, was greater than that in the control group (P<0.05). The LM pH, purge loss, cooking loss and color were not affected by the dietary treatment. The LM shearing force was less in 0.2% yeast culture-supplemented group than in the control group (P<0.05). Other LM physicochemical properties did not differ between the dietary treatment groups. Total saturated and unsaturated fatty acids percentages and total cholesterol content of the LM did not differ across the dietary treatment groups.