Dietary lysine and threonine requirements of the pregnant sow estimated by nitrogen balance.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the lysine and threonine requirements of gestating sows. In the first experiment, four levels of lysine (0.34,0.42,0.48, and 0.56% crude lysine, and 0.24,0.31, 0.38, and 0.45% standardized ileal digestible lysine) were compared in eight multiparous Large White sows. Each sow received successively the four diets according to a Latin-square experimental design. Nitrogen balance was measured over 11 d after a 10-d period of adaptation to the experimental diet. In the second experiment, four threonine/lysine ratios (0.63, 0.73, 0.80, and 0.89 on a crude basis and 0.61, 0.71, 0.77, and 0.87 on a standardized ileal digestible amino acid basis) were compared in 16 multiparous sows, according to a Latin-square experimental design. The standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids in the experimental diets was determined with ileo-rectal anastomized growing pigs. In the first experiment, nitrogen retention was affected by lysine supply (linear, P < 0.001; quadratic, P < 0.04). Nitrogen retention was lowest for treatment 1 (8.0 g/ d) and highest for treatments 3 and 4 that did not differ. Nitrogen retention plateaued at 14.7 g/d in sows consuming 10.5 g/d of digestible lysine. The maintenance requirement for digestible lysine was calculated to be 27 mg/kg BW(0.75) with an efficiency of utilization of digestible lysine above maintenance at 59%. In the second experiment, nitrogen retention was affected (P < 0.03) by the threonine:lysine ratio. It was lower for the lowest threonine:lysine ratio (0.63) than for the other three treatments that did not differ among each other. These results indicate that the optimal standardized digestible threonine:lysine ratio appears to be about 0.71 for multiparous gestating sows.