Supplemental choline has been shown to exert positive effects on growth performance and carcass characteristics in mammalian and avian species. However, limited research has focused on choline supplementation during the grow-finish period of pigs managed in a commercial context. In this study, pigs received phased, practical corn-soybean meal-based diets containing graded concentrations of supplemental choline chloride starting at 8 weeks of age and until pigs achieved market weight. Throughout this study, growth performance was not influenced by choline supplementation. Additionally, minimal changes in carcass characteristics were observed, none of which were industry significant. Overall, choline chloride supplementation did not enhance growth performance or alter carcass characteristics of pigs in a commercial setting.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.