A note on the use of sorghum as a substitute for maize in a diet for growing pigs

Abstract

ABSTRACTAn experiment was undertaken to examine the effect of using sorghum as a substitute for maize on digestibility and nitrogen retention in the growing pig. Two levels of sorghum, 200 and 400 g/kg, substituting for maize on a weight basis, were used. The chemical composition of control and test diets was similar. In the metabolism trial, digestibility coefficients for dry matter, crude fibre, nitrogen and gross energy were significantly lower for the animals given the higher level of sorghum. In the feeding trial, no significant differences were recorded between the three groups in relation to food conversion ratio, daily live-weight gain, killing-out proportion and carcass quality. It is concluded that yellow sorghum may replace up to 400 g of maize per kg in diets for growing pigs without having detrimental effects on animal performance.