A NOTE ON THE EFFECT OF DEEP-LITTER HOUSING ON GROWTH-PERFORMANCE OF GROWING-FINISHING PIGS

Performance of growing-finishing pigs raised on either a partially sla tted floor or on deep litter was measured on a group of 60 animals. Th e body weight gain was depressed on deep litter from 9 to 16 wk of age while an opposite effect was observed from 16 to 20 wk of age (intera ction floor x age P less-than-or-equal-to 0.004). Feed conversion did not follow exactly the same trend but tended (P less-than-or-equal-to 0.11) to be improved by deep-litter housing. It appears that the effec ts observed could mainly be linked to the thermal comfort of the anima ls. There was no treatment effect (P less-than-or-equal-to 0.16) on ca rcass measurements at slaughter. Further experiments are necessary to evaluate the appropriate requirements for ventilation and heating when the deep litter system is used in close confinement.