Effect of feather meal on live animal performance and carcass quality and composition of growing-finishing swine

A total of 252 crossbred pigs were used in two experiments to determine the effect of feeding hydrolyzed feather meal (FM) during the growing-finishing period on animal performance, carcass composition, and pork quality. All pigs were blocked by weight, and dietary treatments were assigned randomly to pens within blocks. In Exp. 1, 24 pens were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments: 1) control corn-soybean meal starter, grower, and finisher diets devoid of FM; 2) control diets formulated with 3% FM; and 3) control diets formulated with 6% FM. During the starter phase, there was a quadratic decrease in average daily gain (P < 0.06) and gain:feed (P < 0.01) with increasing FM, and during the grower-II phase, gain:feed increased linearly (P < 0.07) with increasing FM inclusion level. However, dietary FM had no effects (P > 0.10) on performance during the grower-I phase, finisher phase, or in the overall trial. Moreover, carcasses from pigs fed 3% FM had greater (P < 0.05) average backfat depth than carcasses of pigs fed 0 and 6% FM, but FM did not affect (P > 0.10) ham or carcass lean composition. In Exp. 2, 24 pens were randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments: 1) positive control corn-soybean meal-based starter, grower, and finisher diets; 2) negative control corn-soybean meal-and wheat middlings-based starter, grower, and finisher diets; 3) negative control diets formulated with 3% FM; and 4) negative control diets formulated with 6% FM. Dietary FM had no effect (P > 0.10) on average daily gain, average daily feed intake, or gain:feed during any phase of the experiment. Ham weight decreased linearly (P < 0.04), whereas ham lean weight increased linearly (P < 0.09), with increasing levels of FM in the diet. Pork from pigs fed 3% FM tended (quadratic effect, P < 0.10) to receive higher Japanese color scores than pork from pigs fed either negative control or 6% FM diets. Moreover, pork color became lighter (P < 0.08), less red (P < 0.001), and less yellow (P < 0.003) as FM level was increased in swine diets. Results from these two experiments indicate that as much as 6% FM can be incorporated into isolysinic diets of growing-finishing pigs without adversely impacting animal performance, carcass composition, or pork quality.