Copper sulphate and molasses distillers dried solubles as dietary supplements for growing pigs

Abstract

1. Seventy-two individually fed, virus pneumonia-free Large White weaners were used to determine the effect of supplementing diets containing either some animal protein or only vegetable protein with either 0·1% CuSO4.5H2O or 2½% E.C. Feed (molasses distillers dried solubles).2. The marked growth-promoting effect of supplementing a diet containing animal protein with Cu was again confirmed. The response when Cu was added to the all-vegetable diet was significantly less than that on the diet containing some animal protein, the significant improvement in growth rate on the two types of diet being respectively 5·1% and 14·5%.3. The addition of 2½% E.C. Feed to the diet containing some animal protein significantly increased growth rate by 5·1%. This response was significantly less than that obtained from Cu supplementation. The 3·6% increase in mean growth rate when E.C. Feed was added to the all-vegetable diet was not statistically significant.4. Whereas Cu improved the efficiency of food utilisation of the pigs, particularly when added to the diet containing animal protein (a significant improvement of 5·2%), E.C. Feed did not on either type of diet. Both Cu and E.C. Feed similarly increased the rate of food consumption of the pigs on both types of diet.5. There were no differences in the performance of the control pigs given either the unsupplemented diets with animal protein or the corresponding all-vegetable diets.