A note on naked oats as a substitute for wheat and barley for young pigs

Abstract

In a 28-day experiment on 18 gilts and 18 barrows of Polish Landrace x Duroc (18-42 kg body weight) the nutritional value of naked oats cv. Akt was determined. Three diets (BW, BO, and O) containing 0, 35 and 73.8% of oats, which formed 0, 50 and 100% of the dietary cereals, were used. The B\V control diet contained barley and wheat; the BO diet, only wheat; in the O diet, both wheat and barley were replaced by oats. The BW, BO and O diets were supplemented with 2.5, 1.6, and 0% of soyabean oil, respectively. The daily feed intake (DFI), average daily gains (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FC) tended to be greater in the BO group fed the diet containing 35% oats than in groups BW and O, respectively (907 vs 822 and 803 g and 1.85 vs 2.00 and 2.01 kg/kg; P>0.05). The results suggest that naked oats in an amount of 35% (50% of the diet cereals) can provide a good source of nutrients for young pigs.