The nutrition of the bacon pig. XII. The value of dried grass meal for growing and fattening pigs

Abstract

SUMMARY: It has been shown in a previous communication that the meal-replacement value of young grass in actual pig-feeding practice is considerably poorer than would be anticipated from a consideration of its content of ‘total digestible nutrients’ as determined by means of pig digestion trials. This is because the figure for ‘total digestible nutrients’ takes no account of the energy expended by the pig in consuming and masticating its food. Although this wastage of energy does not represent a serious loss in relation to the rate of live-weight increase in the case of ordinary pig meals fed in the form of a thick slop, it becomes of considerable significance when grass forms a major component of the diet, on account of the bulkiness of the grass and its unfavourable physical texture from the standpoint of consumption by pigs.