Coconut meal to replace part of the protein of catfish residue meal in diets for fattening pigs in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam 

Le Thi Men, Do Vo Anh Khoa, Vo Minh Goi and Doan Thi Minh Nguyet^*

Can Tho University, Vietnam
^*An Giang University, Vietnam
ltmen@ctu.edu.vn
 

Abstract

The trial was carried out on 24 growing pigs of crossbred Yorkshire x Ba Xuyen type, a breed that has adapted well in the rural areas of the Mekong Delta. The experimental pigs  were equal numbers of females and castrated males, with an average initial live weight of 47.0 kg and mean final weight of 85.5 kg. The design was 3 dietary treatments and four replicates. The control diet was based on rice bran, broken rice, catfish residue meal (CRM) and fresh water spinach. The experimental treatments had 25% or 50% of the protein of CRM replaced by coconut meal (CM25 or CM50).

The average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio were improved by the CM25 treatment in comparison to the control diet. The carcass  back fat thickness was not affected by dietary treatments. However, the iodine index value was reduced by incorporation of CM in the diets as the combination of catfish residue meal and coconut meal resulted in firmer fat than when only catfish meal was used. Feed cost per kg weight gain was also lower for CM25 than for other diets.

It is concluded that combined usage of two agro industrial by-products as supplements in pig diets can improve quality of the carcass to get more benefit for the farmer.

Key words: Feed conversion, feed cost, iodine index, quality product, weight gain