Compensatory growth after feed restriction during the rearing period in pigs

Abstract

The compensatory growth after feed restriction was studied in an experiment with 120 pigs which were divided into two test treatments: control (C) and restricted (R) feeding. During the first period, from the age of seven weeks to 25 kg of live weight, R pigs were fed twice and C pigs three times the maintenance level. During the second period, from 25 kg to 100 kg of live weight, both treatments were given the same amount of feed from 1.4 to 3.2 feed units/pig/day. The daily feed intake of R pigs was significantly lower (p