Abstract:
Two experiments were conducted to determine the available P requirements of grower and grower/finisher pigs and to define the conditions for conducting a growth assay for P availability. In the first experiment, diets with four levels of calculated available P (1-4 g/kg) and four Ca:available P ratios (1.7-2.9) were used to determine the available P requirements of grower pigs. The diets were formulated by substituting the required amounts of limestone and sodium tripolyphosphate for sugar in a soya-bean meal and sugar-based diet. In addition to measuring growth responses, a range of bones were examined to determine the most suitable criteria for assessing the response to available P. There was a small quadratic response of feed intake and growth rate of the pigs to level of available P, with maximum responses occurring to approximately 3 g available P/kg (P < 0.05). There were linear depressing effects of increasing Ca: available P ratios on carcass gain and feed conversion ratio (P < 0.01) but most of these effects occurred when the ratio exceeded 2-5: 1.
