Live performance, carcass quality, and economic assessment of over 100kg slaughtered pigs

Abstract

Recent genetic improvement has developed pigs with maximum potential for protein deposit at higher weights; however, their optimal slaughter weight still needs to be determined. The objective of the study was to evaluate live performance, carcass traits, and economic viability of 417 Agroceres PIC pigs slaughtered with 100, 115, 130, and 145kg live weight. Pigs were reared in pens with 10-11 barrows and gilts each, offered a feed allowance of 2.8kg/pig/day until the following slaughter weights (SW): 99.65±0.82kg, 118.53±0.98kg, 133.97±1.17kg, and 143.90±1.24. There was no interaction between sex and SW (P>0.05). Backfat thickness, fat area, and loin eye area linearly increased with SW (P<0.001; R 2 : 70.12-77.44%), and carcass yield increased in a quadratic manner (P<0.001; R²=24.66%). Lean yield was not affected (P>0.05), and feed conversion ratio (R²=43.29%) linearly worsened with SW (P<0.001), but the effect of SW on live production cost (R$/kg) was quadratic, with the minimum point at 134.8kg. It was concluded that, under the applied management, increasing SW results in larger amount of lean tissue with no change in its yield and little effect on growth performance.

Effects of various pre-slaughter conditions on pig carcasses and meat quality in a low-input slaughter facility

“…Fat thicknesses on the back and at the sacrum were both higher (P<0.05) in barrows compared with gilts. This was also observed in the studies of Latorre et al (2003), Jaturasitha et al (2006) and Oliveira et al (2015). In addition, barrows had lower meatiness than gilts (P<0.05), which is in concordance with the results of Latorre et al (2008) and Oliveira et al (2015).…”

“…This was also observed in the studies of Latorre et al (2003), Jaturasitha et al (2006) and Oliveira et al (2015). In addition, barrows had lower meatiness than gilts (P<0.05), which is in concordance with the results of Latorre et al (2008) and Oliveira et al (2015). It is known that testosterone promotes muscle growth, but, when lacking, as in barrows, energy is transferred to fat tissue at a higher rate, which significantly affects the meat/fat ratio (Jaturasitha et al, 2006).…”

Using nontargeted LC-MS metabolomics to identify the Association of Biomarkers in pig feces with feed efficiency

“…There are many possible explanations for the unsatisfactory results of PCA and OPLS-DA, including but not limited to (1) the sampling process was carried out after the individual growth indicators were measured. When the pig reaches the weight (approximately 100 kg), its metabolic activity is often not as active as before, and the increase in weight has little effect on the growth performance of pigs after 100 kg [ 15 ]. Notably, collected fecal samples should be immediately stored at − 80 °C to − 20 °C temperature until processed to avoid microbial fermentation.…”

Using nontargeted LC-MS metabolomics to identify the association of biomarkers in pig feces with feed efficiency

“…There are many possible explanations for the unsatisfactory results of PCA and OPLS-DA, including but not limited to (1) the sampling process was carried out after the individual growth indicators were measured. When the pig reaches the slaughter weight (approximately 100 kg), its metabolic activity is often not as active as before, and the increase in weight has little effect on the growth performance of pigs after 100 kg [24]; (2) throughout the experiment, all test subjects were clinically healthy. Therefore, there is no physiological interference between the FE groups that could cause large metabolome differences.…”