Effects of the level of rapeseed meal on performances in the post-weaning and the growing/finishing periods

Two experiments were conducted using increasing levels of low glucosinolates rapeseed meal :- the first, on weaned piglets, compared inclusion rates of 0, 5, 10 and 15 %.- the second, on growing/finishing pigs, compared inclusion rates of 0, 6, 12 and 18 %.In both trials, the chief components of the diets were wheat, peas and soybean meal. All the diets were formulated to contain the same amounts net energy (NE) and digestible amino acids, since amino acid digestibility is lower for rapeseed compared to soybean.Increasing levels of «00» rapeseed meal in the diets had no significant effect on daily feed intake (0.74, 0.74, 0.73 and 0.72 kg/day for piglets at the 0, 5, 10 and 15 % inclusion levels respectively and 2.17, 2.15, 2.15 and 2.15 kg/day for growing/finishing pigs at the 0, 6, 12 and18 % inclusion levels respectively. Therefore, no reduction in appetite was observed, which is a problem often cited in the literature.Consequently, there was no significant diet effect on average daily gain and on feed conversion ratio. As inclusion rate increased average daily gains were 474, 483, 478 and 470 g/d for piglets and 843, 846, 854 and 836 g/d for growing/finishing pigs, while the feed conversion ratios were 1.58, 1.55, 1.54 and 1.54 kg/kg for piglets and 2.57, 2.55, 2.52 and 2.58 kg/kg for growing/ finishing pigs.These results allow a recommendation for maximum inclusion levels of 8 to 10 % in diets for weaned piglets and 15 % for growing/finishing pigs. In diets based on wheat, mixing «rapeseed meal and peas» gave the same growth performance as that obtained with soybean meal. This is due to the complementary nature of the profile of amino acids in the feedstuffs. In addition, it provides an alternative to soybean meal in diets for growing/finishing pigs.