Department of Animal Science
Date of this Version
January 1999
Abstract
An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of dietary feather meal level, as well as whether or not start weight influenced feather meal effects in growth performance and carcass traits of barrows. Dietary feather meal additions tended to decrease the final body weight variation of barrows. Barrows fed diets containing 20 percent feather meal from 80 pounds to slaughter had decreased average daily gain, average daily feed intake, digestible lysine intake, energy intake, daily lean gain and backfat depth. Barrows fed diets containing 10 percent feather meal from 190 pounds to slaughter had decreased average daily gain, average daily feed intake, digestible lysine intake, energy intake and backfat depth. The reduction in daily lean gain appears to be caused by decreased digestible lysine intake. Overall, feather meal can be used to reduce barrows feed intake, however, the dietary digestible lysine content should be adjusted.
Comments
Published in 1999 Nebraska Swine Report, compiled by Duane E. Reese, Associate Professor and Extension Swine Specialist, Department of Animal Science. Prepared by the staff in Animal Science and cooperating Departments for use in Extension, Teaching and Research programs. Published by Cooperative Extension Division, Agricultural Research Division, and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Swine reports website: www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/swine/pigpdf.htm