Program 6 – Nutritional manipulations to enhance the performance and feed efficiency of growing pigs

Final research reports made available on this website 
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Program Leader – Dr Roger Campbell

Feed intake and feed efficiency are the two factors most affecting the performance of growing pigs and this research completes work commenced as part of nutritional innovations in the CRC for an Internationally Competitive Australian Pork Industry. The work establishes the extent chemosensory factors, or components of ingredients, might be used in diet formulations to manipulate feed intake, and to establish the extent nutrient asynchrony may play in preventing pigs exhibiting their genetic potential under commercial situations. The research establishes the extent nutrient availability is affected by ingredients and grain processing, and the extent nutrient asynchrony may play in determining animal performance. The research covers two areas in two projects:

  • Peripheral chemosensing and feed intake (6A-101) screened ‘tastants’ for their impacts on the feed intake of growing pigs. Tastants and ingredients were ranked on their preferences by pigs and tested alone and/or in combinations to establish how ingredients might be selected to manipulate the feed intake of pigs.
  • Influence of nutrient asynchrony on pig growth performance and feed efficiency (6A-102) investigates the extent the combination of different ingredients and how grains are processed influences the synchrony with which nutrients are made available in the small intestine and the consequent effects on animal performance but particularly feed efficiency. The outcomes will help establish the extent nutrient asynchrony might influence commercial feed efficiency. The extent the selection of ingredients and processing conditions might affect the synchrony of nutrient availability is not currently taken into account in diet formulations.

Projects transferred from the previous Pork CRC

6A-101 (1B-116): Peripheral chemosensing & feed intake in pigs – Eugeni Roura, University of Qld – Summary     Report confidential

6A-102 (2G-110): Influence of nutrient asynchrony on finisher growth performance and feed efficiency – Cherie Collins, Rivalea Australia – Summary   Report

Program completed June 2014