Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXIV, Issue 1
Written by Lavinia IDRICEANU, Nicoleta Aurelia LEFTER, Anca GHEORGHE, Mihaela HABEANU, Dumitru DRAGOTOIU
At present, the widespread raising of swine in farms becomes a serious problem in terms of the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), having an environmental impact. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different diets on growth parameters changes in physical size, carbon dioxide (CO2) emission and microclimate monitoring. For 28 days, 7 TOPIGS sows (average initial body weight, BW ~ 205.09 kg) were allotted in two dietary treatments: control (C diet, 1.6% soybean oil) and experimental (E diet), (with 1.6% hemp oil). The type of oil differed by their fatty acids (FA) composition. Sows were individually weighed, P2 backfat thickness was determined by ultrasound and morphometric measurements of body size were taken three times during lactation. The CO2 emitted by sows and their litter was calculated. Microclimate parameters were recorded daily. The addition of 1.6% hemp oil in the diet improved sows final body weight and reduced weight loss (P<0.05). A high significant negative Pearson correlation was observed between PUFA intake, and their fraction (Σ n-3, Σ n-6, Linolenic and Linoleic as predominant n-3 and n-6 FA). The proportion of CO2 exhalated by sows fed E diet was significantly lower compared to C diet. The CO2 emission, temperature and relative humidity were affected (P<0.001) by the sows’ physiological status. The results from this study are indicating that the hemp oil inclusion in the sow's diet has a beneficial effect on performance. Further studies are necessary to determine the nutrition impact on environmental conditions.
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