Growth Performance of Weaned Piglets Fed with Seed Meal from the DRC Cultivar of Cajanus Cajan in the Republic of Congo

Abstract

The present study evaluated the growth parameters of weaned crossbred piglets fed seeds of the DRC cultivar Cajanus cajan in the Republic of Congo. The results obtained in this study showed that from the 7th week of age until the end of the experiment, an increase in weight was observed in piglets from seed-based treatments and this significantly for the subjects of the lot 25% compared to other lots (0%, 50% and 75%). Live weights at the 9th week were 15.8525kg; 17.0775kg; 15.7580kg and 15.1160kg respectively for the 0%, 25%, 50% and 75% batches. The incorporation of seed meal from the RDC cultivar Cajanus cajan into the piglets' diet significantly improved the ADG (P < 0.05) of animals from the 4th to the 9th week of age, particularly in piglets from the batch T50% followed by batch T25% and T0% with respective values of 428.57±526.72; 287.14±188.33 and 261.43±45.68. Daily food consumption is lower in the control group than in the experimental groups (25%, 50% and 75%). Consumption indices (CI) did not increase with age. However, these results showed that the inclusion of seed meal from the RDC cultivar of Cajanus cajan had no significant effect on the consumption index of piglets of the different dietary treatments compared to the control.