Efficiency of soy protein concentrate in diets of weaned piglets

Abstract

The aim of this experiment was to determine the influence of "HP 300" soy protein concentrate (SPC) on the wellness, intestine microflora, growth rate and feed consumption compared with that of fish meal in weaned piglets. To create a balanced experiment on breed, gender, age and weight, two groups of 19 weaned piglets were composed. The first group was a control while the second group was experimental. The experiment was divided into two periods: the first period lasted for 27 days while the second lasted for 14 days. The duration of the experiment was 41 days in total. The composition of feed and sustenance were the same in both periods. The piglets from the second group receiving the feed without fish meal gained 69 g or 18.4% more (P > 0.05) weight on average than the piglets from the first group during the whole period. No essential differences in feed consumption per 1 kg of weight gain between the groups were identified during the whole period. While examining the amount of enterobacteria in faeces it was estimated that the amount of enterobacteria in the faeces of piglets of the second group decreased during the whole experimental period. At the end of experiment the amount of enterobacteria in the faeces of piglets of the second group gradually decreased by 12% compared with the enterobacteria amount at the start of experiment. The amount of enterobacteria in the faeces of piglets of the first group also decreased by 12%. However, the amount of enterobacteria in the faeces of piglets of the first group decreased more sharply than in piglets of the second group.