CERTAIN MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE THE GROWTH RATE IN PIGLETS

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of probiotic feeding on the growth rate of weaned Large White Yorkshire piglets and also the effect of floor space allowance on their performance. Sixteen piglets aged eight weeks were randomly divided into two groups. One group was administered a commercial probiotic preparation and other was treated as control. The experiment was run for sixteen weeks. Probiotic feeding significantly (p<0.01) increased the growth rate in terms of body weight, body length, chest girth and height of the animals. Probiotic feeding also resulted in better feed conversion ratio of 0.277 kg compared to only 0.236 kg in the controls. In the floor space trial, eighteen weaned piglets at the age of eight weeks were randomly assorted into two groups. However the feed conversion ratio proved to be poorer in the restricted floor space group compared to the standard floor space group, the feed conversion ratios being 0.202 and 0.217 kg respectively.