The effects of substituting wheat with
crude glycerol as a dietary energy source were evaluated. Seventy-two weaned pigs were fed for 4 wk one of three pelleted
wheat-based diets containing 0, 4, or 8% glycerol and formulated to 2.28 Mcal kg1 net energy (NE) and 5.02 g
standardized ileal digestible lysine Mcal NE. For day 0 to 28, body weight increased linearly (P=0.04); pigs fed 8%
glycerol were 1.11 kg heavier than pigs fed 0% glycerol. Glycerol inclusion tended to increase average daily gain linearly
(P=0.066) and increased average daily feed intake quadratically (P=0.037) without affecting feed efficiency (P=0.10).
Feeding up to 8% dietary crude glycerol by substituting wheat can enhance the growth performance of weaned pigs.