ALGAS MARINHAS CALCÍTICAS SOBRE A COMPOSIÇÃO, PESO E COMPRIMENTO DO METACARPO DE LEITÕES NA FASE DE CRECHE

The objective of this study was to test the effect of calcitic seaweed (CS) on diets for piglets on the composition, weight and length of the metacarpus. A total of 128 piglets entire males, crossbreed of commercial lineage were used, with initial body weight of 5.50 ± 0.49 kg and final body weight of 24.39 ± 3.32 kg, distributed in a randomized complete block design with four treatments, eight replicates and four pigs per experimental unit. The treatments were constituted to: meet the requirement of calcium from calcitic limestone (CL); meet the calcium requirement from CL + CS; with a 30% reduction in the requirement for calcium from CS and to meet the requirement for calcium from CS. The variables analyzed were dry matter and mineral matter in %, calcium in g/kg, fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) in g, length (LENG) in mm. The results showed a treatment effect (P<0.05) on the variables FW, DW and LENG of the bone, in which the piglets that received 30% calcium reduction were affected. It is concluded that CS are a source of calcium in diets for piglets in the nursery phase without influencing the bone characteristics.