The results are expressed as mean±standard deviation. Growth
rate (GR, g/kg0.8/day) was calculated using the geometric body weight
(BWg) of each animal: GR=weight gain/BWg
0.8/day and BWg=exp{1/
2[ln(WT1)+ln(WT2)]} where WT1 is the weight (g) at time (t) 1 and
WT2 the weight at time 2. Feed intake was also expressed per
metabolic body weight (g/kg0.8/day). Feed efficiency was analysed
using the feed conversion ratio (FCR) which was calculated as the feed
intake (FI, g/kg0.8/day) divided by the growth rate (GR, g/kg0.8/day).