GROWTH AND DIGESTIBILITY STUDIES TO EVALUATE RAPESEED MEAL AS A PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT FOR SWINE

Abstract

A 15% protein corn-soy finisher diet was compared with an isonitrogenous corn-soy-rapeseed meal diet. The two diets were fed either as meal or as pellets. Twenty female pigs received each of the four experimental treatments from 45 to 90 kg liveweight. The treatments did not affect feed consumption and the substitution of 11% rapeseed meal in the diet fed as meal did not affect growth rate. Pelleting increased the growth rate of pigs on the corn-soy diet, but had no effect on the growth rate of the pigs receiving the corn-soy-rapeseed diet.The digestible energy value of the rapeseed meal and of the reground, pelleted rapeseed meal was determined using barrows of 50 kg liveweight. The digestible energy value of the rapeseed meal (2.74 kcal/g) was increased to 3.02 kcal/g by steam pelleting and regrinding.