Effects of copper and zinc sources on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass traits and meat characteristics in finishing pigs

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of copper and zinc sources on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass traits and meat characteristics in finishing pigs. Dietary treatments included 1) inorganic copper (CuSO 4·5H2O 30 ppm), 2) organic copper (Cu-methionine, 30 ppm), 3) inorganic zinc (ZnO, 80 ppm) and 4) organic zinc (Zn-methionine, 80 ppm). ZnO treatment improved the ADFI (average daily feed intake) compared to Cu-met and Zn-met treatments (p<0.05) during 5 weeks of treatment. However, during the entire experimental period, the ADG (average daily gain), ADFI and F:G ratio (feed conversion ratio) were not significantly different among the treatments (p>0.05). DM and N digestibility were not significantly different among the treatments after 5 weeks (p>0.05). At the end of the experiment, DM and N digestibility were decreased with Zn-met treatment relative to the other three treatments. The pH value of meat from CuSO4 treated pigs was greater than Zn-met and ZnO treated pigs (p<0.05). Sensory evaluation was carried out for randomly selected (n = 16) paired loin samples. Meat color levels were increased (p<0.05) with Cu treatments compared to Zn treatments. CuSO4 decreased the marbling of meat relative to the other treatments (p<0.05). The firmness was greater with ZnO treatment compared to Cu-met and ZnO treatments (p<0.05). These results indicate that inorganic Zn can improve growth performance, however, inorganic Cu and Zn are as effective as organic Cu and Zn at improving nutrient digestibility, carcass traits and meat quality. This form of organic additive can be friendlier to the environment than inorganic supplements.