Energy requirement of growing pigs under commercial housing conditions.

Scientifically derived recommendations for the energy supply to growing pigs are generally based on estimates of the metabolisable energy (ME) requirements for maintenance (MEm) and protein (MEp) and fat (MEf) retention. It is supposed that animals are kept within the zone of thermoneutrality and that their physical activity is not elevated. These assumptions might not always be true for practical housing conditions, and it is difficult to quantify the additional energy needed for thermoregulation and physical activity.

Effect of xylanase and glucanase supplementation to a cereal-based, threonine-limited diet on the nitrogen balance of growing pigs.

In cereal-based diets, non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) lower precaecal nutrient absorption and increase endogenous protein and amino acid (AA) losses. Adding exogenous NSP-degrading enzymes aims amongst others to reduce these negative effects and to thereby improve protein and AA supply. However, biased results exist in the literature on their efficacy in growing pigs.