Modeling the Physiological Growth of Swine Part I: Model Logic and Growth Concepts

Abstract

This article is Part 1 in a series of three articles describing the computer model (NCPIG) that was developed to simulate the physiological growth of swine. The methods and techniques used to simulate the interaction of feed intake and the various metabolic processes for the growing swine are presented. These processes include nutrient digestion, nutrient storage in the blood, body maintenance, lean mass growth, excess fat growth, and waste and urine production. Animal heat production and thermal energy balance is described in Part 3 of this series. The model was shown to provide reasonable predictions of the empty body weights used to develop the supporting body component growth curves