Table 5.
The effect of standardised ileal digestible (SID) lysine concentration on post-weaning growth performance 1.
| Low | Medium | High | Very High | LSD 2 | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0–14 | ||||||
| ADG (g/d) | 219 ab | 203 a | 240 b | 250 b | 32.81 | 0.033 |
| ADFI (g/d) | 298 | 276 | 305 | 288 | 30.46 | 0.228 |
| FCR | 1.37 c | 1.37 bc | 1.27 b | 1.16 a | 0.097 | <0.001 |
| Faecal score 3 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 0.531 | 0.873 |
| Day 14–28 | ||||||
| ADG (g/d) | 473 a | 524 ab | 525 ab | 572 b | 54.42 | 0.013 |
| ADFI (g/d) | 754 | 782 | 758 | 747 | 56.30 | 0.578 |
| FCR | 1.59 c | 1.49 b | 1.45 b | 1.31 a | 0.075 | <0.001 |
| Faecal score 3 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 0.603 | 0.315 |
a–c Different superscripts within a row indicate significant differences between dietary treatments (p < 0.05). 1 The trial was performed in 2013 at Schothorst Feed Research B.V. (Lelystad, The Netherlands). In all, 144 piglets were used in this experiment with 6 pens (for purposes of replication) per treatment and 6 piglets (3 boars and 3 gilts) per pen. The average body weight at the start of the trial was 8.0 kg, with an average weaning age of 25.3 days. The SID lysine content and SID Lys/NE ratio of the diet on Days 0–14 post-weaning were 9.90 g/kg and 1.04 for the low lysine treatment, 11.1 g/kg and 1.17 for the medium lysine treatment, 12.1 g/kg and 1.27 for the high-lysine treatment, and 13.3 g/kg and 1.40 for the very-high-lysine treatment. The SID lysine content and SID Lys/NE ratios of the diet on Days 14–28 post-weaning were 9.00 g/kg and 0.97 for the low-lysine treatment, 10.1 g/kg and 1.09 for the medium-lysine treatment, 11.1 g/kg and 1.20 for the high-lysine treatment and 12.2 g/kg and 1.32 for the very-high-lysine treatment. The diets were fed ad libitum. ADG = average daily gain, ADFI = average daily feed intake, FCR = feed-conversion ratio 2 LSD is the least significant difference at α < 0.05. 3 Faecal score was registered on a scale of 1–10 (1 = liquid faeces, 6 = optimal faeces, 10 = hard dry faeces) and measured twice weekly at the pen level. Faecal scores were averaged by experimental period (i.e., Days 0–14 and Days 14–28 post-weaning).