Effects of Dietary Energy Profiles on Energy Metabolic Partition and Excreta in Songliao Black Pigs Under Different Ambient Temperature

Abstract

In order to further reveal the special characteristics of energy metabolism and the characteristics of energy requirements of fattening pigs grown in low-temperature environments, this study used a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial array of treatments, which harnessed two temperatures (low-temperature, LT group: 10 °C; normal-temperature, NT group: 20 °C), two feed energy levels (normal-energy, NE group: 14.02 MJ/kg metabolic energy; high-energy, HE group: 15.14 MJ/kg metabolic energy), and two feed energy sources (LF group: low fat, HF group: high fat). Thirty-two Songliao black fattening pigs with an initial body weight of 85.48 ± 2.31 kg were completely randomized into eight treatment groups, with four replicates in each treatment group and one pig in each replicate. The pigs were placed in a respiratory metabolic chamber for a 6-day trial. There was one pig per respiratory metabolic chamber in a single cage. The results showed that the average daily weight gain in the normal-temperature, high-energy, and high-fat groups was higher than that of the low-temperature, normal-energy, and low-fat groups (p p p p p p p 2 emissions, and these changes are more pronounced in cold environments.

Keywords

• ambient temperature
• energy level
• energy sources
• energy metabolism
• Songliao black pig