Nutrition Notes | Supplemental Mintrex® Copper Improves Grower-Finisher Performance and Economics Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Mintrex copper is a newer generation of supplemental copper in which one copper molecule is chelated to two specific methionine molecules. This combination results in a source of copper that is highly bioavailable to the small intestine. In addition, the methionine (78% of formula) is also bioavailable and useful in formulations since synthetic amino acids have been used routinely due to the high cost of soybean meal. To study this, we utilized 192 pigs and 24 pens per treatment. The initial starting weight was 41 pounds with a final weight of about 291 pounds. The supplementation of Mintrex copper resulted in a 3.3% improvement in gain, a 1.4% greater feed intake and a 1.9% better feed efficiency during the grower phase (Days 0-42) compared to those diets without the Mintrex copper. Overall (Days 0-113), gain was increased by 0.7% with a 1% improvement in feed efficiency from the diets with added Mintrex copper compared to those without. Net return (value of gain minus feed cost) was increased from supplemental Mintrex copper by $0.35 and $0.44 per pig at $55 and $60 per live hundredweight, respectively. In addition, there was a trend towards a higher grade premium due to the increase in percent lean from the added Mintrex copper. Treatment Days 0-42 Control (C) C + Mintrex Copper1 ADG², lb 1.865 1.927 ADF, lb 4.051 4.108 F/G² 2.173 2.132 Cost/Lb Gain, ¢ 24.13 24.01 Days 0-113 ADG, Lb 2.202 2.218 ADF, Lb 5.909 5.890 F/G² 2.683 2.655 Cost/Lb Gain, ¢ 29.30 29.35 Net Return, $/Pig @ $50/cwt live price 51.48 51.73 @ $55/cwt live price 63.91 64.26 @ $60/cwt live price 76.35 76.79 @ $65/cwt live price 88.79 89.32 Carcass Percent Lean2 55.93 56.29 Dressing Percent 75.10 75.12 Grade Premium, $/Cwt 7.20 7.44 ¹ 1.07 lb/ton (80 ppm copper) ² Mintrex copper effect (P ≤ .05) SUMMARY: Supplementing growing-finishing pigs with 80 ppm Mintrex copper throughout the growing-finishing period, resulted in a significant improvement in feed efficiency along with higher net returns. Download PDF Related Nutrition Notes Effect of NutriVantage® and/or Chromax in Grow-Finish Pigs Developing products and feed programs to help producers raise pork more efficiently to feed a growing population is an ongoing effort at the Kent Research Farm. NutriVantage® Nutrition Optimizer® for… Read More Supplemental Chromium Sources in Grown-Finish Pigs Developing products and feed programs, to help producers raise pork more efficiently, is an ongoing effort at the Kent Research Farm. Chromium is a trace mineral that helps with the… Read More Supplemental Chromax ® in Grow-Finish Pigs Developing and evaluating products and feed programs to help producers raise pork more efficiently is an ongoing effort at the Kent Research Farm. Chromium is a trace mineral that helps… Read More Want to learn more from KNG research? Give us your email address to be notified when we publish new Nutrition Notes articles.
