Table 1.
Effect of diet on performance indices of piglets fed the experimental diets (n = 8)ab
| Item | Gluconic acid (g/kg) | SEM | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 9 | 18 | |||
| d 0–14 | |||||
| Initial BW (kg) | 8.16 | 8.18 | 8.17 | 0.02 | 0.937 |
| Final BW (kg) | 9.49 | 10.07 | 9.9 | 0.11 | 0.061 |
| ADG (g/d) | 95 | 135 | 124 | 8 | 0.069 |
| ADFI (g/d) | 181b | 224a | 205ab | 7 | 0.028 |
| F:G (g/g) | 1.93 | 1.69 | 1.68 | 0.05 | 0.055 |
| ADWI (mL/d) | 596 | 675 | 627 | 21 | 0.355 |
| W:F (mL/g) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 0.1 | 0.095 |
| d 14–28 | |||||
| Final BW (kg) | 14.2 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 0.2 | 0.22 |
| ADG (g/d) | 323 | 337 | 331 | 7 | 0.756 |
| ADFI (g/d) | 429 | 474 | 469 | 10 | 0.146 |
| F:G (g/g) | 1.38 | 1.42 | 1.43 | 0.02 | 0.545 |
| ADWI (mL/d) | 1171 | 1298 | 1245 | 51 | 0.643 |
| W:F (mL/g) | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 0.1 | 0.911 |
| d 28–42 | |||||
| Final BW (kg) | 21.3 | 22.6 | 22.2 | 0.3 | 0.157 |
| ADG (g/d) | 509 | 552 | 543 | 13 | 0.389 |
| ADFI (g/d) | 726b | 799a | 794a | 14 | 0.039 |
| F:G (g/g) | 1.43 | 1.44 | 1.46 | 0.01 | 0.58 |
| ADWI (mL/d) | 1843 | 2061 | 2078 | 86 | 0.507 |
| W:F (mL/g) | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 0.1 | 0.831 |
| d 0–42 | |||||
| ADG (g/d) | 309 | 341 | 332 | 7 | 0.147 |
| ADFI (g/d) | 424b | 481a | 471a | 10 | 0.026 |
| F:G (g/g) | 1.47 | 1.46 | 1.48 | 0.01 | 0.834 |
| ADWI (mL/d) | 1157 | 1303 | 1245 | 49 | 0.532 |
| W:F (mL/g) | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 0.1 | 0.955 |
aBody weight, BW; average daily gain, ADG; average daily feed intake, ADFI; feed-to-gain ratio, F:G; average daily water intake, ADWI; and water-to-feed ratio, W:F
bMeans within row without common superscript are significantly different, P < 0.05