Two feeding trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of mixing finishing pigs on subsequent performance. Growth rate of heavier pigs was reduced 15-35% in the two weeks after mixing when compared to the non-mixed pigs. This reduction in weight gain resulted in a significant difference in average daily gain overall for pigs mixed at 5 weeks compared to non-mixed pigs. An 8% reduction in the two weeks following mixing was observed for pigs mixed at 3 weeks compared to non-mixed pigs. However, during the following weeks of the trial, these pigs
recovered, resulting in a non-significant reduction overall in average daily gain. In
trial 2, pigs that were sorted randomly into two groups at 5 weeks grew 6% faster
than controls and overall had a significantly faster rate of gain than controls.
