Ideal digestible lysine level for early- and late-finishing swine.

Two hundred sixteen crossbred (PIC line 26 x Camborough 15) pigs were used in three trials to determine optimal digestible lysine levels during early (EF = 50 to 95 kg) and late (LF = 90 to 110 kg) finishing periods. Pigs were self-fed in sex groups of two in all trials. The assay diets for EF and LF periods were 11 and 10% CP corn-soybean meal diets, respectively, supplemented with threonine, methionine, tryptophan, valine, and isoleucine. Corn-soybean meal positive-control diets were included in each trial (14.5% CP for EF and 13.5% CP for LF). This dietary CP regimen was shown to give the same performance and carcass quality as a 17% CP corn-soybean meal diet fed during both EF and LF. Plateau portions of the lysine response curves resulted in performance levels that were equal to or greater than those achieved with pigs fed the 14.5/13.5% CP positive-control diets. Early-finishing pigs responded (P < .05) to graded doses of digestible lysine (.41 to .71%) for daily weight gain, gain:feed, longissimus muscle area, 10th-rib fat depth, lean gain, and plasma urea N. Digestible lysine requirement estimates based on average plateau points were .58% for EF barrows and .64% for EF gilts. Late-finishing pigs responded (P < .05) to digestible lysine doses (.35 to .65%) for daily weight gain, gain:feed, lean gain, and plasma urea N. Digestible lysine requirement estimates based on average plateau points were .49% for LF barrows and .52% for LF gilts.