The effect of feeding a diet formulated for developing gilts between 70kg and ~140kg on lameness indicators and carcass traits

Amy Jean Quinn, Laura E. Green, P. G. Lawlor, L. A. Boyle

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of three dietary regimes for replacement gilts on lameness and carcass traits. Diets were: a diet specifically formulated for replacement gilts (diet 1, 14.0 MJ of DE/kg, 0.75% lysine), a finisher diet (diet 2, 13.5 MJ of DE/kg, 1.02% lysine) and a gestation sow diet (diet 3, 13.0 MJ of DE/kg, 0.69% lysine): the latter two diets are traditionally fed to replacement gilts. Thirty-six gilts were selected at day (d)0 (70.8 kg±0.78 SE, aged ~130d), housed individually and allocated at random to 1) DEV (restricted access diet 1, n=12), 2) FIN (ad-libitum access diet 2, n=12) or 3) GES (initially ad-libitum access diet 2, then restricted access to diet 3 from d30, n=12). All gilts were fed ad-libitum from d71?83. Locomotory ability (0=normal to 5=severely impaired) and limb lesions (0=normal to 3=severe) were scored weekly until d82. Hind-claw lesions and toe uneveness were scored (0=normal to 3=severe) at d0, 40 and 82. Gilts were weighed at d0, 28, 70 and 82. Carcass traits were recorded at slaughter (d83) and one front leg was removed for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to establish areal bone mineral density (aBMD). Joint surface lesions of the humeral condyle (HC; 1=normal to 4=severe, 5=osteochondrosis dissecans) and anconeal process (AP; 1=absent 2=present) were scored. The percentage of lame animals (locomotion score ?2) on ?1 occasion were DEV=0% (0/11), FIN=73% (8/11) and GES=75% (9/12) (P
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)87-95
Number of pages9
JournalLivestock Science
VolumeVolume 174
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2015

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