A note on the effects of forced air movement and environmental temperature on weight gain in the pig after weaning

Abstract

ABSTRACTTwenty-six groups of four or eight pigs of mean initial weight 23·2 kg and mean age 84 days were exposed to environmental temperatures of 8, 12, 16 or 20°C under still-air conditions (wind-speed = 0·1 m.s−1) or of 12CC with wind-speeds of 0·45 or 0·8 m.s−1. The animals were fed at a fixed level close to three times their maintenance requirement, with water ad libitum, and were weighed weekly over a 7-week period. Variation in temperature between groups from 8 to 20°C had no significant effect on weight gain, but increasing wind-speed to 0·8 m.s−1 at 12°C resulted in reduced weight gain.