Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXIII, Issue 2
Written by Marie NAJOAN, Betty BAGAU, Fenny WOLAYAN, Florencia SOMPIE, Youdhi KOWEL
Although its protein content is less than that of conventional ingredients commonly used as protein sources, copra meal represents the largest quantity of locally available feed protein in many tropical areas, such as Indonesia. It is, therefore, important that information about the nutritional value of copra meal is available. The present study was conducted to test the effect of inclusion of copra meal in growing pigs diets on nutrient digestibility. Twenty-four castrated Landrace Yorkshire pigs (3.5 – 4.0 months of age, ranged from 33 – 40 kg of body weight) were kept in individuals pens. Four treatments were arranged as follow: R1 = 95% basal diet + 5% copra meal; R2 = 90% basal diet + 10% copra meal; R3 = 85% basal diet + 15% copra meal; R4 = 80% basal diet + 20% copra meal, with six replications as blocks based on body weight. The present study was arranged in a 4 x 5 Completely Randomized Block Design with four treatments and five blocks. After a significant F test, Tukey’s test (where necessary) was used to inspect differences among treatment means. Differences between treatment means were considered significant when P < 0.05. Variables measured were: daily feed and water consumption, nutrient digestibility (energy, crude protein, fat, crude fiber, calcium and phosphorus). The result showed that there was no significant effect (P>0.05) of copra meal inclusion in diet on feed and water consumption, as well as nutrient digestibility (energy, crude protein, fat, crude fiber, calcium and phosphorus). It can be concluded that inclusion of copra meal up to 20% in growing pigs diets did not affect nutrient digestibility as well as performance of the pigs. Further study on higher level of copra meal inclusion in pig diets is needed.
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