Comparative Efficacy of Plant and Animal Protein Sources on the Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Morphology and Caecal Microbiology of Early-weaned Pigs

The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare the effects of various animal and plant protein sources on piglet`s performance, digestibility of amino acids and gut morphology in weaned pigs until 28 days after weaning. The plant protein sources used were soybean meal (SBM), fermented soy protein (FSP), rice protein concentrate (RPC); and animal protein sources tested were, whey protein concentrate (WPC) and fishmeal (FM). Iso-proteinous (21%) diets were formulated and lysine (1.55%) content was similar in all the diets. The level of each protein source added was 6% by replacing SBM to the same extent from the control diet containing 15% SBM. The ADG was higher (p