Table 2.
Growth performance of pigs from weaning (day 21 of age) to market weight (day 188 of age)1
| Age of pigs (d) | NBW pigs | IUGR pigs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alanine | Glycine | Alanine | Glycine | |||
| Body weight, kg/pig | ||||||
| 21 | 6.47 ± 0.09 | 6.51 ± 0.09 | 5.12 ± 0.09 | 5.26 ± 0.11 | ||
| 35 | 8.53 ± 0.08 | 8.69 ± 0.11 | 6.62 ± 0.08 | 7.04 ± 0.12 | ||
| 50 | 15.1 ± 0.26 | 15.6 ± 0.25 | 11.9 ± 0.20 | 13.0 ± 0.30 | ||
| 64 | 23.6 ± 0.41 | 24.3 ± 0.30 | 19.0 ± 0.40 | 21.0 ± 0.37 | ||
| 92 | 45.6 ± 1.3 | 47.3 ± 1.1 | 38.9 ± 0.91 | 40.8 ± 1.01 | ||
| 120 | 74.8 ± 1.2 | 76.5 ± 1.8 | 65.4 ± 0.7 | 69.8 ± 1.0 | ||
| 148 | 97.9 ± 1.7 | 100.9 ± 2.4 | 88.5 ± 1.4 | 93.1 ± 1.3 | ||
| 176 | 124.5 ± 1.4 | 126.4 ± 1.8 | 110.7 ± 0.85 | 116.1 ± 1.6 | ||
| 188 | 133.9 ± 1.6 | 136.0 ± 1.9 | 118.8 ± 0.64 | 124.3 ± 1.6 | ||
| P-values | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gly | IUGR | Day | Gly × IUGR | Gly × day | IUGR × day | Gly × IUGR × day |
| 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.036 | 0.011 | 0.001 | 0.909 |
| Feed intake, kg/pig | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| d 21 to 35 | 5.48 ± 0.56 | 4.99 ± 0.48 | 3.83 ± 0.21 | 3.95 ± 0.11 | ||
| d 35 to 50 | 10.4 ± 0.64 | 10.2 ± 0.74 | 8.03 ± 0.24 | 8.84 ± 0.37 | ||
| d 50 to 64 | 15.0 ± 0.70 | 14.9 ± 0.90 | 11.8 ± 0.50 | 13.0 ± 0.40 | ||
| d 64 to 92 | 44.7 ± 3.0 | 43.8 ± 3.1 | 39.0 ± 1.8 | 37.3 ± 2.4 | ||
| d 92 to 120 | 69.0 ± 4.5 | 66.5 ± 6.6 | 65.7 ± 2.7 | 67.4 ± 3.5 | ||
| d 120 to148 | 68.0 ± 5.7 | 66.2 ± 6.1 | 72.3 ± 3.9 | 70.2 ± 5.5 | ||
| d 148 to 176 | 73.1 ± 5.8 | 69.8 ± 8.2 | 70.5 ± 5.9 | 68.0 ± 5.9 | ||
| d 176 to 188 | 27.9 ± 2.2 | 25.9 ± 1.7 | 24.9 ± 1.3 | 25.9 ± 2.4 | ||
| d 21 to 188 | 313 ± 19 | 302 ± 22 | 296 ± 13 | 295 ± 17 | ||
| P-values | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gly | IUGR | Day | Gly × IUGR | Gly × Day | IUGR × Day | Gly × IUGR × Day |
| 0.536 | 0.221 | 0.001 | 0.636 | 0.998 | 0.747 | 0.999 |
| Feed efficiency (gain:feed ratio, g/g)2 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| d 21 to 35 | 0.402 ± 0.015 | 0.462 ± 0.014 | 0.398 ± 0.012 | 0.450 ± 0.023 | ||
| d 35 to 50 | 0.661 ± 0.014 | 0.714 ± 0.036 | 0.657 ± 0.012 | 0.678 ± 0.014 | ||
| d 50 to 64 | 0.591 ± 0.018 | 0.616 ± 0.020 | 0.605 ± 0.015 | 0.619 ± 0.018 | ||
| d 64 to 92 | 0.511 ± 0.015 | 0.557 ± 0.018 | 0.504 ± 0.010 | 0.551 ± 0.023 | ||
| d 92 to 120 | 0.412 ± 0.019 | 0.481 ± 0.033 | 0.406 ± 0.016 | 0.469 ± 0.025 | ||
| d 120 to 148 | 0.340 ± 0.038 | 0.417 ± 0.044 | 0.329 ± 0.032 | 0.369 ± 0.033 | ||
| d 148 to 176 | 0.356 ± 0.015 | 0.405 ± 0.028 | 0.328 ± 0.012 | 0.384 ± 0.025 | ||
| d 176 to 188 | 0.356 ± 0.011 | 0.396 ± 0.023 | 0.321 ± 0.012 | 0.351 ± 0.020 | ||
| d 21 to 188 | 0.399 ± 0.018 | 0.457 ± 0.032 | 0.395 ± 0.015 | 0.423 ± 0.023 | ||
| P-values | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gly | IUGR | Day | Gly × IUGR | Gly × Day | IUGR × Day | Gly × IUGR × Day |
| 0.001 | 0.043 | 0.001 | 0.463 | 0.874 | 0.861 | 0.998 |
1Data are means ± SEM, n = 12 pens. Based on their birth weights and litter of origin, 21-d-old IUGR and NBW pigs were assigned randomly into one of the following four treatment groups: (1) IUGR pigs supplemented with 1% glycine + 0.19% cornstarch (IUGR-Gly); (2) IUGR pigs supplemented with 1.19% L-alanine as the isonitrogenous control (IUGR-Ala); (3) NBW pigs supplemented with 1% glycine + 0.19% cornstarch (NBW-Gly); and (4) NBW pigs supplemented with 1.19% L-alanine as the isonitrogenous control (NBW-Ala). The treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design with measurements at different days. There were 2 to 4 pigs per pen. Pigs of 21–64, 64–92, 92–148, and 148–188 d of age had free access to corn- and soybean meal-based diets containing 20%, 18%, 16%, and 14% crude protein, respectively.
2The feed efficiency of pigs is expressed as the ratio of body weight gain/feed consumption; the greater the value, the higher the feed efficiency for growth.