Adding straw to finisher pig diets does not affect objective pork quality
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
2009
Conference Title
Twelfth Biennial Conference of the Australasian Pig Science Association
Place of Publication
Cairns
ISBN
978-0-9806880-0-9
ISSN
1324 9177
Keywords
pigs, swine
Disciplines
Animal Sciences | Meat Science
Abstract
Pigs housed in deep-litter systems can consume significant amounts of fibrous bedding material (Staals et al., 2007) and bedding materials, such as cereal straw, are of little nutritive value to growing pigs. The daily intake of bedding is variable, however, it is estimated that bedding can contribute to up to 10% of the pig’s total daily intake (van Barneveld et al., 2003). The consumption of bedding dilutes the pig’s total energy and nutrient intake and may contribute to the differences found in pork quality between pigs raised in conventional and deep-litter systems. This experiment was designed to determine whether straw consumption directly affects pork quality or whether the effect is indirect via the dilution of dietary energy density. It was hypothesised that objective pork quality would differ between pigs fed high and low energy finisher diets but that the addition of straw, in the absence of differences in diet energy density, would not affect objective pork quality.
Recommended Citation
Trezona, M,
Pluske, J R,
Dunshea, F R,
and
Mullan, B P.
(2009), Adding straw to finisher pig diets does not affect objective pork quality, Twelfth Biennial Conference of the Australasian Pig Science Association, Cairns, pp.188-188.
https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/conf_papers/143
