We have developed a measurement system for suckled milk volume in piglets. The measuring system is composed of an angled cage, a load cell, the cage holding the piglet, and a personal computer. The measurement of suckled milk volume is obtained from the difference of body weight, before, and after suckling. The body weight can be obtained by calculating the mean value from the fluctuation of load cell, even if the piglet moves in the cage. The measuring range of this system, at values under 10kg, has an accuracy within ±1.0g. In the measurement experiment on the suckled milk volume of piglets, the mean volume for Landrace piglets per time at 0-3 days of age, was about 15g. At 8-14 days, the mean suckled milk volume increased to about 25g, and y=0.0051X³-0.2185X²+3.2907X+9.787 was obtained as an approximate curve of the mean suckled milk volume. From these results, this system proved convenient with high accuracy, obtained during a short period of time, and it was shown that this system was practical to use.

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In experiment 1, effects of feed restriction on fatty acid composition and cholesterol level of meat (loin) and adipose tissues (subcutaneous fat and intermuscular fat) were investigated using 18 Land-race x White Yorkshire x Duroc barrows. The animals were allocated into three groups receiving full feeding (control), 80% and 60% of full feeding, respectively. Samples of loin (m. longarisumus) were collected between 12th and 13th vertebrate 24 hours after slaughtering. There was no obvious effect of feed restriction on total lipids level in loin and the values were all similar among the groups. Proportions of palmitoleic and linoleic acids in total lipids in loin decreased with feed restriction although other fatty acids stayed at the same levels. While there was no large difference in loin neutral fatty acid composition among three groups, mrystic, palmitic, palmitoleic, linoleic acids, and degree of saturation in polar lipids, varied significantly (P<0.01) among the groups. Cholesterol levels tended to be lower with higher feed restrictions but no statistical significance was obtained. In experiment 2, loin, perirenal, subcutaneous and intermuscular fat taken from normal and soft fat barrows determined by palpation were subjected to fatty acid composition and cholesterol analyses. Loin samples of the soft fat pigs had a slightly lower total lipids level compared with those of the normal pigs but significantly higher (P<0.05) proportions of oleic and linoleic acids. This observation agrees with involvement of higher levels of oleic acid in occurrence of soft fat pigs. Compared with the normal pigs, the soft fat pigs had a largely lowered (P<0.01) cholesterol level.

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The present study examined the effect of temperature of wet feed on the feeding behavior, growth and digestibilities of piglets fed under the natural temperature condition. Three hogs and 6 female piglets (crossbred: Dekalve) were used. The feeds with different temperatures (15°C, 20°C and 25°C) were prepared, of which ratio of water to feed was 2:1. The piglets were deviled into three groups equally. They were penned individually and the feed, which was equivalent to 6-8% of body weight per day, was provided twice a day. Growth test was carried out from 35 days old to 75 days old, and the feeding behavior was observed for 5 days at the following mean body weight: 10kg, 20kg and 30kg. Digestibility was determined with the indicator method of Cr₂O₃ from 28th to 32nd day of the experiment. Environmental temperature changed in the range of 17 to 25°C, and the mean temperature was 21.6°C. Body weight gain and feed intake amount of 15°C treatment group tended to be higher than the other 2 groups. Feed efficiencies of 15°C and 20°C treatment group showed the significantly higher values than that of 25°C treatment group. Feed intake time and feed intake amount/min. showed short time and high level, respectively, in 15°C and 20°C treatment groups at each growth stage. Digestibility was not affected by feed temperature.

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