Bioavailability of Iron in Two Different Sources for Weanling Pigs

University of Nebraska 1996 Swine Day Report. The bioavailability of the iron in iron methionine was compared with that in feed-grade ferrous sulfate. Pigs, which were anemic at weaning, were given diets containing supplements of one of the two iron sources. Iron supplementation increased weight gain and hemoglobin repletion. The increases were greater for ferrous sulfate than for iron methionine. This indicates that the iron in ferrous sulfate is more bioavailable than the iron in the iron methionine source that we investigated.