Growth performance and carcass quality of pigs housed in hoop barns fed diets containing alternative ingredients

Abstract

Raising pigs in large groups in deep bedded hoop barns is receiving increased attention from producers and consumers interested in systems that are perceived to provide improved welfare for pigs. Unfortunately, these systems usually produce pigs that are fatter than similar pigs raised in conventional confinement housing systems. So, our objectives were to determine if dietary manipulation may be a useful tool for controlling increased carcass fat often observed in pigs raised in hoop barns and to assess the effect of housing and feeding system on pork quality. Specifically, we wanted to determine if a diet based on alternative grains (AG; barley, oats, buckwheat, field peas, and expeller soybean meal) would decrease carcass fatness and support growth performance of pigs housed in hoop barns (H) similar to pigs fed diets based on corn and soybean meal (CS) that were housed in an environmentally-controlled confinement barn (C).