EFFECTS OF DIETARY SOAPSTOCK ON PERFORMANCE, NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY AND BONE MINERALIZATION IN WEANER PIGS FED TWO LEVELS OF CALCIUM

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of supplementing the diets of weaner pigs with 0, 5 or 10% acidulated soapstock in the presence of a normal (0.8%) or high (1.2%) dietary calcium level for a period of 6 wk. Increasing the dietary calcium level reduced feed intake (P < 0.05). There was no significant effect of the dietary soapstock level on feed intake, although there was a decrease (P < 0.05) in average daily gain when dietary soapstock level increased to 10%. Feed:gain ratio was not influenced by diet and no significant treatment interactions were observed for any of the performance parameters measured. Increasing dietary soapstock level increased insoluble soap concentration in the contents of the duodenum (P < 0.05), cecum (P < 0.01) and in feces (P < 0.01). There was no significant effect of dietary treatments on apparent digestibility of protein, fat, calcium, magnesium or phosphorus (P > 0.05). There was no effect of the dietary treatments on bone or serum concentrations of calcium, magnesium or phosphorus (P > 0.05). Key words: Weaner pigs, soapstock, calcium, performance, bone and serum minerals