Dietary chromium yeast supplementation length in diets for growing-finishing pigs

This study aimed to evaluate different periods of chromium yeast (CrY) supplementation on growth performance and quantitative carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs. We used eighty barrows (Duroc/Pietran x Large White/ Landrace) with an initial body weight of 24.5 +/- 2.4 kg. A completely randomized block design was used within four periods of dietary CrY supplementation (control diet: CrY-free, from 25 to 110 kg; Cr25- 110 kg: diet with 0.4 mg kg(-1) of CrY, from 25 to 110 kg; Cr50-110 kg: diet with 0.4 mg kg(-1) of CrY, from 50 to 110 kg; and Cr70-110 kg: diet with 0.4 mg kg(-1) of CrY, from 70 to 110 kg), with ten replicates and two animals each. The CrY supplementation did not affect (P>0.05) either the grow performance or the carcass characteristics evaluated. The dietary supplementation of 0.4 mg kg(-1) of CrY for growing-finishing pigs (25 to 110 kg) does not alter the performance neither the quantitative carcass characteristics.