Effects of using copra meal, palm kernel expellers, or palm kernel meal in diets for weanling pigs

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate effects of including copra meal, palm kernel expellers (PKE), and palm kernel meal (PKM) in diets for weanling pigs from approximately 9 to 20 kg of BW. A total of 128, 128, and 160 pigs were used in the experiments with copra meal, PKE, and PKM, respectively. In each experiment, pigs were randomly allotted to 4 dietary treatments with 4 or 5 pigs per pen and 8 replicates per treatment. The control diet was based on corn, soybean meal, and 4% fish meal. Three additional diets were formulated by including 5, 10, or 15% copra meal, PKE, or PKM at the expense of corn and soybean meal. Diets were formulated to contain equal quantities of digestible AA and P, and ME. Pigs were fed experimental diets for 20 or 21 d, and ADG, ADFI, and G:F were calculated. Results indicated that pigs fed increasing levels of copra meal had a linear reduction (P < 0.05) in final BW, overall ADG, and ADFI, but overall G:F was unaffected. Pigs fed increasing levels of PKE had a linear reduction (P < 0.05) in final BW and overall ADG, but overall ADFI and G:F were not influenced. No differences were observed in growth performance if PKM was used. In conclusion, if diets are formulated based on digestible nutrients and ME, diets for weanling pigs may include up to 15% PKM without affecting overall growth performance, but if copra meal or PKE is used, pig performance may be reduced.