Varying dietary levels of wheat pollard and wheat bran in growing pigs: effect on growth and carcass traits

To study the effect of increasing levels of wheat pollard as a replacement for wheat bran on growth and carcass characteristics of growing pigs, 64 crossbred (Landrace × Large white Yorkshire) pigs were fed with diets in which wheat pollard was added back to wheat bran in ratios of 15, 30, 45 and 60 %. The pigs were divided into groups of four, balanced for sex, ancestry and body weight. They were then allotted to the dietary treatments in a completely randomised design with four replications. The trial lasted 4 months and data were collected on feed intake and weight gain. A digestibility trial was carried out on eight male pigs per treatment during the growth period. At the end of the growth period, two pigs per replicate in each treatment (n = 32) were slaughtered for determination of carcass characteristics. There were significant differences in the rate of gain and efficiency of feed utilisation among treatments. Diet significantly affected weights of the liver, lungs and small intestine (P < 0.05). The availability of nutrients was not a limiting factor for the growing pigs and that substituting wheat bran by wheat pollard at 60 % improved the pig’s average daily gain and feed efficiency.