Voluntary feed intake and growth performance of boars and barrows in dependence on lysine-to-energy ratio

Boars (entire male pigs) consume less feed than barrows (castrated male pigs) under practical ad libitum feeding conditions, but the knowledge about possible reasons is only limited. Since the lysine and energy contents of the diet are known to be important determinants of voluntary feed intake, it was of interest if sex specific responses to selected dietary lysine-toenergy ratios could explain the differences in feed intake between boars and barrows.