Effect of Oats in Pig Starter Diets on Growth Performance

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of including steamed rolled oats in the nursery diet on pig performance. Pigs were fed diets with 10% oats in the phase 1 diet (day 0-10 post-weaning) and 5% in the phase 2 diet (day 10-28 post weaning). There were 5 pens of 7-8 pigs each on the control and oat diets. Pigs fed the oat diets had greater gain from day 0-10 and overall. Feed intake was not different between the diets. Feed efficiency was improved in pigs fed the oat diets. Overall these results indicate that although oats are more expensive than corn, the improved growth performance offsets the added cost, particularly in the phase 1 nursery diet.