Prediction of the energy value of commercial pig feeds,according to the various energy systems used in the European Community that are based on simple analytical parameters of the feed

An attempt was made to predict the energy value of mixed pig feeds from chemical composition alone, using multiple linear regression analysis. A total of 24 commercial mixed pig feeds were collected on the Belgian market and analysed for various chemical parameters. The digestibility of the Weende nutrients was also determined.For several energy systems used in the European Community (EC), the most reliable regression is given for one to seven independent variables. It was finally found that Nettoenergie Fett (Schiemann et al., 1971), net energy growth (A. Just, 1975, personal communication), digestible energy (Schiemann et al., 1971), metabolizable energy (Just, 1975), Gesamtnährstoffe and total digestible nutrients were most accurately predicted when the following five variables were entered in the regression equation: crude protein, crude fat and the three nitrogen-free extractives (NFE) fractions: starch, invert sugars and “other NFE” (= NFE — starch — invert sugars).