The effect of trough colour on the voluntary food intake of postweaned pigs—a short communication

The aim of this experiment was to assess the effect of trough colour on the voluntary food intake of weaned pigs. Pigs were weaned at 28 days of age and offered feed in either a red, yellow or black trough. The trough colours were chosen as they represented a high (yellow), intermediate (red) or low...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Livestock production science 2004-06, Vol.88 (1), p.193-197
Main Authors: Edge, H.L, Varley, M.A, Rowlinson, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Colour
Feeding trough
Pig
Visual stimulus
Weaning
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Summary:The aim of this experiment was to assess the effect of trough colour on the voluntary food intake of weaned pigs. Pigs were weaned at 28 days of age and offered feed in either a red, yellow or black trough. The trough colours were chosen as they represented a high (yellow), intermediate (red) or low (black) level of contrast with the pelleted feed. It was hypothesised that by increasing the contrast between the trough and the solid diet, the visual stimulus provided to the pigs would encourage feed intake. There were, however, no significant effects of trough colour on feed intake, daily liveweight gain or FCR during the 4-week period following weaning. Therefore, it was concluded that trough colour does not affect voluntary feed intake in the postweaned pig.
ISSN:0301-6226
1872-6070
DOI:10.1016/j.livprodsci.2003.10.010