Utilisation by pigs of diets containing oats and oat husks ground to different degrees of fineness

Abstract

AbstractOats ground to three defined degrees of fineness were used in fattening pig diets as the sole cereal source. Growth and digestibility trials showed that there was no advantage to be gained in grinding finer than is attainable by ordinary farm grinding equipment. When oats were very finely ground there was a small reduction in the apparent digestibility of the protein of the diet and in the retention of N. Except for killing‐out percentage, which was lower in the diet containing the coarse grist, no carcass measurement was affected by the fineness of the oat grist.Digestibility trials with oat husks ground to three defined degrees of fineness and included in conventional barley‐groundnut meal fattening diets shows that there was no material effect of the fineness of grist on the digestibility of organic proximate constituents.