The Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Pigs Fed Diets Containing Discarded Biscuits (DB) a Bakery by- Product

Abstract

The performance and carcass characteristics of young pigs fed diets containing 0, 15, 30 and 45% discarded biscuits (DB) were determined in this experiment. The DB consisted of broken, mishapend and stale biscuits and also a small amount of partially burnt biscuits. All diets were isonitrogenous and the DB used contained 10.2% crude protein. Both feed and water were provided a_d libitum but on a daily basis during the 9-week feeding trial. There were no significant differences (P> 0.05) in mean feed intake, daily weight gain and feed conversion efficiency. There was a slight linear decrease in feed cost as the level of DB increased in the diet, and the cost of gain also followed a similar trend. Carcass characteristics were similar (P>0.05) even though small numerical differences were observed. It was concluded that DB could constitute as much as 45% of the diet and replace nearly 70% of the maize in a growing pig's diet without any adverse effect on growth performance and carcass characteristics.