Effect of the season of the year on growing performance of pigs during the nursery phase

Abstract

High temperatures have a major effect on growth performance in pigs especially in subtropical zones. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the season of the year on growth performance of pigs during the nursery period in the West of Chaco, Argentina. A total of 4951 animals were used to calculate average daily gain (ADG), voluntary feed intake (VFI) and feed conversion ratio during the nursery phase (6±1.1 kg to 25±1.2 kg). All pigs had the same diet, facilities and sanitary management. Data were analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) procedure of the INFOSTAT® statistical software. During summer and spring months there were a significant reduction in ADG and VFI (p≤0.05) whereas FCR was not affected by seasons (p≥0.05). In conclusion, hottest seasons of the year had a negative effect on ADG and VFI but they did not alter the FCR in pigs