Performance of Finishing Pigs as Affected by Prior Performance and Addition of an Antibiotic to the Diets

Although pigs may be fairly uniform in weight when they are placed in growing-finishing facilities, uneven performance and thus a wide range in weight at market time is a common occurrence. Poor performing pigs during the growing period seem to continue to grow slower than their faster growing counterparts if they are left in the same pen during the finishing period. The study reported herein is designed to determine if sorting pigs by performance during the growing period will lead to better performance during the finishing period. The effect of addition of antibiotic to the finishing diet was also evaluated