Peanut Meal as a Source of Protein in Pig Starter and Grower Rations

Peanut meal containing 55% protein was evaluated for use in pig starter and grower rations as the source of supplementary protein. Attempts were made to correct the amino acid deficiencies in these rations with supplements of lysine, methionine and threonine or by using combinations of peanut meal and natural sources of these amino acids, namely soybean meal and fish meal. When used alone or in combination with fish meal the peanut meal did not support a satisfactory rate of growth. Conflicting results were obtained with lysine supplementation but in no instance did any amino acid supplementation permit the pigs to gain at a rate comparable to that exhibited by pigs fed soybean meal as the supplemental protein. The data indicated that 25% of the soybean meal can be satisfactorily replaced by peanut meal in starter rations for pigs weaned at 2 weeks of age.