Energy and protein requirements of pigs and the utilization of fibrous feedstuffs in Nigeria

Abstract

A sound nutrition programme, which allows the understanding of the interaction between nutrients and requirements
for different levels of production, is essential for raising swine profitably. Nutrient requirement is that amount of each
essential nutrient that will result in maximum production with a minimum of feeding. Hence, high quality feeds
containing the essential nutrients in the amounts necessary to meet the animal’s requirements must be provided, in
order to attain an optimal rate and efficiency of growth from birth to market. The formulation of balanced diets that
provide the correct amounts and proportions of these nutrients is essential to support the requirements for
maintenance, growth and reproduction of the animal. It is only then that the feeding programme can be said to have a
major impact on the performance and the overall profitability of the swine herd. The scarcity of conventional feeds has
hindered the growth and development of the livestock industry in Nigeria. The general shortage of energy and protein
feeds appear to be more severe for non-ruminants that depend to a great extent on compounded feeds, especially
pigs, which are bulk feeders. There are a number of agro-industrial by-products, farm waste or crop residues that have
been exploited as alternative feed sources for the high energy cereals. This has made a substantial contribution
towards better and more economic feeding of non-ruminants. However, fibrousness, a feature of most locally
available agro-industrial by-products and wastes has limited their use