Supplementation of a low-energy diet with recombinant ferritin fromPerinereissp. can be beneficial to finishing pigs

Abstract

A total of 90 finishing pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with an average body weight (BW) of 50.02 ± 1.78 kg were used in a 10 wk experiment. The pigs were distributed into three dietary treatments replicated six times with five pigs (two barrows and three gilts) per pen. The treatment diets were a positive control (PC; high-energy diet), a negative control (NC; low-energy diet), and an NC + 0.05% ferritin diet (TRT1). The supplementation of ferritin in a low-energy diet tended (P = 0.06) to increase the BW at week 5 compared with pigs fed low-energy diets without ferritin. At week 5 and overall period, the gain-to-feed ratio of pigs fed high-energy diets was higher (P < 0.05) compared with pigs fed low-energy diets. The pigs receiving a ferritin-supplemented diet had a comparable growth performance to pigs fed high-energy diets. At week 10, fecal Lactobacilli counts of pigs fed high-energy diets were higher (P < 0.05) compared with pigs fed low-energy diets. The supplementation of low-energy diets with ferritin resulted in comparable growth performance to pigs fed high-energy diets and had no adverse effect on digestibility and fecal gas emissions. Thus, it seems beneficial to include ferritin in low-energy diets of finishing pigs.