Effects of sex and dietary lysine on performances and serum and meat traits in finisher pigs

• Published in: Animal (Cambridge, England) England), 2015-10, Vol.9 (10), p.1731-1739
• Main Authors: Suárez-Belloch, J., Guada, J. A., Latorre, M. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Feed; Animals; backfat; barrows; blood serum; Body Composition - drug effects; Body Weight - drug effects; carcass yield; Diet - veterinary; Dietary Supplements; experimental diets; feed conversion; feed intake; Female; gilts; growth performances; ileum; intramuscular fat; lysine; Lysine - pharmacology; lysine restriction; Meat - standards; meat composition; meat quality; Phenotype; pigs; pork; Product quality, human health and well-being; Research Article; sex; slaughter; Swine - growth & development; Swine - physiology; urea; Urea - blood; weight
• ISSN: 1751-7311; 1751-732X; 1751-732X
• DOI: 10.1017/S1751731115001111

A total of 160 Duroc×(Landrace×Large White) pigs, 50% barrows and 50% gilts, of 28.3±4.52 kg of BW were used to study the effect of lysine (Lys) restriction in the finisher period, on growth performances and serum and carcass and meat quality traits. The grower diet (from 30 to 90 kg BW) was slightly Lys-restricted (7.8 g standardised ileal digestible (SID) Lys/kg) in accordance with results from a previous trial. During the finisher period (90 to 130 kg BW), four experimental diets with decreasing SID Lys contents (6.3, 5.6, 4.2 and 3.2 g/kg) were tested. Each of the eight treatments (two sexes×four levels of Lys) was replicated five times. Each replicate was a pen with four pigs allocated together. When animals achieved 129±2.59 kg were slaughtered and carcass and meat characteristics were evaluated. No significant interaction sex×diet was found. During the finisher period, barrows grew faster (P