Abstract
The Effects of Increasing Stocking Density on Finishing Pig Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics
Highlights
The relationship between pen space and pig performance has been a subject of interest dating back to the early 1960s
This study indicates that increasing stocking density resulted in poorer ADG driven by a reduction in ADFI
Pens were stocked with 9 pigs, and adjustable gates provided treatments that allowed for 9, 8, or 7 ft[2] per pig
Summary
A total of 405 pigs (PIC 327 × 1050) from 2 consecutive finishing groups (group 1 initially 145 ± 3.9 lb, group 2 initially 134 ± 5.5 lb) were used to examine the effects of stocking density on finishing pig growth performance and carcass characteristics. In both studies, as stocking density decreased, ADG and ADFI increased (linear; P < 0.019), but there was no difference in F/G. Final weight was 8.5 and 11.7 lb lower (linear; P ≤ 0.005) in groups 1 and 2, respectively, when comparing the lowest and highest stocking density treatments. In group 1, these pen weights were not reached until after d 42 (239.8 lb), d 28 (206.9 lb), and d 14 (176.7 lb) for the 9, 8, and 7 ft[2] per pig treatments, respectively. Similar to group 1, feed consumption, and ADG, decreased linearly (linear; P ≤ 0.033) after d 14 as stocking density increased, before pigs reached the k-value that should have influenced performance.
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