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Water disappearance rates in late-finishing pigs
There is limited contemporary published information on the water intake of finishing pigs, particularly to heavier BW typical for the industry. Such information is essential when estimating concentrations of products to be delivered via the water supply. The objective of this study was to measure water disappearance rates of late-finishing pigs kept at typical floor spaces and taken to relatively heavy weights. The study was carried out over a 5-wk period at a research facility of the University of Illinois using 60 pigs grown from 96.3 ± 0.02 kg to 128.4 ± 1.68 kg BW. Pigs were kept in groups of 10 at a floor space of 0.62 m2/pig and had ad libitum access to feed and water. Diets were based on corn and soybean meal, were formulated to meet the recommendations of NRC (2012), and were in meal form. Water was provided via one cup-type drinker/pen and a water meter was installed in the water line before the drinker to measure the volume of water delivered within a range of ± 1.5%. Water meter readings were taken 3 times/d at 07:00, 12:00, and 17:00. Pigs were weighed at the start and end of the study and the amount of feed delivered to the feeders was recorded. Overall ADG, ADFI, and G:F were 0.94 ± 0.047 kg, 3.20 ± 0.072 kg, and 0.295 ± 0.0106 kg/kg, respectively. Water disappearance averaged 10.85 ± 1.996 L/pig/day with a range across pens from 8.83 to 14.04 L/pig/d. Data for the three daily time periods (07:00-12:00; 12:00-17:00; 17:00-07:00) were analyzed using the Proc Mixed procedure of SAS, with the model used including the fixed effect of time period and the random effect of replicate (pen). The three daily time periods had different (P< 0.001) water disappearance rates. Water disappearance was greatest during the afternoon, least during the night, and intermediate during the morning (0.87, 0.26, and 0.64 L/pig/h for the periods from 12:00-17:00, 17:00-0700, and 07:00-12:00, respectively, SEM 0.052). This study provides data on water disappearance, which includes both water intake and wastage, of late-finishing pigs kept at commercial floor spaces to BW that are typical for the industry.
Keywords: pig, water intake, late-finishing