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Influence of copper sulfate and tribasic copper chloride on feed intake preference in finishing pigs
When supplemented at 125 to 250 ppm, Cu has consistently been demonstrated to increase ADG, mainly through increased feed intake. A total of 150 pigs (initially 86.6 kg) were used in a 15-d study to determine if pigs have a preference to consume diets containing added Cu from either copper sulfate (CuSO4) or tribasic copper chloride (TBCC, IntelliBond C; Micronutrients, Indianapolis, IN). Pigs were placed in pens by sex (5 pigs/pen), with each sex accounting for 15 pens. On d 0, pens of pigs were individually weighed and pens were randomly allotted to 1 of 3 dietary preference comparisons with 10 replications per comparison with average BW of the pen and sex balanced across comparisons. Treatment diets used were a corn-soybean control with no supplemental Cu beyond that provided in the diet premix (8 ppm), or the control diet with 150 ppm added Cu from either CuSO4 or TBCC. Pens contained 2 identical 2-hole feeders, each with 1 of 2 treatment diets. Feeders were rotated daily within each pen to prevent location bias. The comparisons tested were: 1) control vs. CuSO4, 2) control vs. TBCC, and 3) CuSO4 vs. TBCC. For comparison 1, pigs consumed 66% of their daily intake from the control diet (P<0.01) and only 34% from the CuSO4 diet. For comparison 2, pigs consumed 57% of their daily intake from the control diet (P<0.03) and 43% from the TBCC diet. For comparison 3, pigs consumed 65% (P<0.01) of their daily intake from the diet containing TBCC and only 35% from the diet with the added CuSO4. In summary, when given a choice, pigs preferred to consume a diet without high levels of added Cu; however, when given the choice between diets containing either Cu source, pigs preferred diets containing TBCC.
Table 1. Effects of CuSO4 and TBCC on feed intake preference of finishing pigs |
||
Item |
ADFI, kg |
ADFI, % |
Comparison 1 |
|
|
Control |
1.67 |
65.7 |
CuSO4 |
0.91 |
34.4 |
Probability, P < |
0.01 (0.154)1 |
0.01 (5.69) |
Comparison 2 |
|
|
Control |
1.50 |
57.0 |
TBCC |
1.13 |
43.0 |
Probability, P < |
0.03 (0.112) |
0.02 (3.71) |
Comparison 3 |
|
|
CuSO4 |
0.89 |
35.0 |
TBCC |
1.59 |
65.0 |
Probability, P < |
0.01 (0.130) |
0.01 (5.26) |
1Values in parentheses indicate the SEM for each presented P-value.
Keywords: copper finishing pig, preference