Canola meal as a protein supplement for growing-finishing pigs

Four hundred crossbred pigs of an average initial weight of 20.3 kg were used in two experiments to determine the effect of canola meal (CM) as a protein supplement for growing (20-60 kg) and finishing (60-90 kg) pigs. Diets were based on barley and wheat and CM replaced 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the protein supplied by soya-bean meal (SBM) on an isoenergetic and isonitrogenous basis. Average daily feed intake and feed-to-gain ratio of the growing pigs were not significantly (P > 0.05 affected by the level of CM in the diet. Rate of gain was significantly (P < 0.01) depressed when CM replaced ≥ 75% of the SBM. Performance of pigs during the finishing phase was not affected (P > 0.05) by replacement of SBM by CM. It was concluded that growing pigs can be successfully fed diets containing a maximum of 9% CM, however, CM can be used as the sole protein supplement in the diets of finishing pigs.