The effects of reducing dietary CP and soybean meal levels on performance, N excretion, organs weight and diarrhea incident were evaluated in pigs supplemented with amino acids. The diets contained four levels of CP (21.0, 19.5, 18.0, and 16.5%) and were supplemented with synthetic amino acid (lysine, metionine and treonine). In experiment I, eight crossbred (LD x LW) castrated males (initial weight = 22 kg) were individually allotted to a randomized block design, with split plot arrangement to determine N balance. No significant changes in amount of N ingested and excreted in the feces were observed among the treatments. However, the treatments linearly decreased N excreted in the urine, as dietary CP decreased. In experiment II, 60 pigs (initial weight = 8.5 kg) were assigned to a randomized blocks design with 4 x 3 factorial arrangement (four diets and three slaughter ages), with five blocks and one animal per unit experimental, to evaluate the relative weights of liver, spleen and pancreas and intestinal morfometry during the first three post weaning weeks. No significant differences on these parameters were observed across the treatments, whereas crypt depth changed in the first post weaning week, that showed cubic effect. In experiment III, 60 animals (initial weight = 8,0 kg) were allotted to a randomized blocks design, with five blocks and three animals per experimental unit, to evaluate the performance and diarrhea incidence. No significant differences on these parameters were observed across the treatments. Pigs fed diet with 16.5% CP showed decreasing diarrhea incidence. Reducing the dietary CP levels from 21 to 16.5% for pigs in the nursery phase decreased N excretion in the urine and diarrhea incidence with no changes on performance and physiologic parameters of piglets from 8 to 25 kg BW.
ideal protein; metabolism; nutrition; performance growth; soybean meal; swine
