The important role of protein in pigs and the amount to add

Protein is the foundation of all life and also the main component of the pig's body. According to research measurements, protein makes up 15% of the pig's body. It is the basic raw material for all tissues and cells of the pig's body, including muscles, bones, nerves, connective tissue, skin, and blood; it is the main component of skin, hair, meat, milk, bones, and hooves; and it is also an important raw material for the pig's body to form enzymes, hormones, pigments, antibodies, and other biologically active substances. When the diet is deficient in protein, sows are prone to abnormal estrous cycles, difficulty conceiving, fewer piglets born, easy miscarriage, and giving birth to weak, stillborn, and deformed piglets, affecting milk yield and milk quality; breeding boars experience reduced libido, decreased semen and sperm counts, lower semen quality, and may even lose mating ability; piglets show slow or stagnant growth, reduced resistance, develop edema disease, and may even die eventually. Therefore, supplying the necessary protein during the @#@227@#@ production process is very important.

So, is it true that the more protein feed is fed to pigs, the better? Of course not. From an economic perspective, feeds that contain a lot of protein (such as soybean cake, meat-and-bone meal, blood meal, fish meal, etc.) are generally of higher value, and feeding too much will increase feeding costs and cause waste; from a physiological perspective, feeding too much protein feed will increase the burden on the liver for decomposition (deamination) and harm the normal excretory function of the kidneys, and may even cause ammonia poisoning in the pig's body. Therefore, too little or too much protein in the pig's diet both have adverse effects. We must supply an appropriate amount of protein according to the pig's growth stage and production level, which is very important. So, how much protein is appropriate to supply in the pig's diet? Generally speaking, the younger the pig, the more protein needed per unit of body weight; conversely, the older the pig, the less protein needed per unit of body weight. This is the general nutritional rule for pigs' protein requirements. We should master this rule and apply it to pig production practice, so as to achieve the highest economic benefit with the lowest feeding cost. For this purpose, the author introduces the protein requirements of pigs at various stages of age and categories as follows:

Suckling piglets (5 kg to 10 kg), protein feed accounts for 22% to 26% of the dry matter of the diet; weaned piglets (10 kg to 20 kg), protein feed accounts for 20% to 22% of the dry matter of the diet; small growing pigs (20 kg to 35 kg), protein feed accounts for 18% to 20% of the dry matter of the diet; large growing pigs (35 kg to 60 kg), protein feed accounts for 16% to 18% of the dry matter of the diet; finishing pigs (60 kg to 100 kg), protein feed accounts for 12% to 15% of the dry matter of the diet; breeding boars (for mating), protein feed accounts for 15% to 16% of the dry matter of the diet; sows (open period), protein feed accounts for 12% to 14% of the dry matter of the diet; sows (gestation period), protein feed accounts for 13% to 15% of the dry matter of the diet; sows (lactation period), protein feed accounts for 14% to 16% of the dry matter of the diet.