CONCLUSION
Per kg EBW the GI tract of pigs fed on the high-fibre diet was significantly heavier than
the GI tract from the pigs fed on the low-fibre diet. Low environmental temperature also
caused a heavier GI tract compared with that in pigs kept at higher environmental
temperatures. The present study also demonstrates that DF has a low energy density due
to a low digestibility and a low net energy value of the absorbed nutrients from fibre. The
estimate showed that the utilization of retained energy/ME for energy derived from
fermentation in the hind-gut was 73 YO of the energy value enzymically digested in the small
intestine. The increased heat production of 290 kJ/pig per d for each 1" reduction in
ambient temperature from 23" to 13' corresponds to 20 g from the low-fibre diet and 23 g
from the high-fibre diet.
This work was supported by the Danish Agricultural and Veterinary Research Council.
The authors would like to thank Knud Erik Bach Knudsen for carrying out the fibre
analyses, Peter Theil and Benny Thomasen for excellent technical assistance and Karl
Henrick Jakobsen and Peter Ssrensen for their qualified care of the animals.