A 792-pig feeding trial measured growth, post-weaning diarrhoea and nitrogen excretion under different protein diets.
Six diet groups over 42 days
A study published on 2 July 2026 assigned 792 pigs, 17 to 22 days old at weaning, to three crude-protein diets with or without a non-starch polysaccharidase enzyme. The diets were fed in three phases lasting 10, 11 and 21 days. Two diets contained 17% crude protein at different lysine levels; the third contained 24% crude protein with the higher lysine level.
Growth, stools and nitrogen
The 24% protein group had the highest average daily gain and feed efficiency across the trial. It also had more post-weaning diarrhoea and greater nitrogen excretion than the 17% groups. Neither protein level nor enzyme inclusion significantly changed the measured gut morphology. The published results report these outcomes together; they do not establish a single feeding rate for other herds.