Effects of sire line, birth weight and sex on growth performance and carcass traits of crossbred pigs under standardized environmental conditions

Abstract

A variety of available terminal sire lines makes the choice of terminal sire line complex for the pig producer. Higher birth weights are important for subsequent growth performance and selection for this trait is also necessary in sire lines. The aim was to investigate the effect of sire line, birth weight and gender on growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality. In total 3844 crossbred pigs from Camborough Pig Improvement Company (PIC) dams matched with either a Synthetic (A) or Piétrain (B) sire line were used. Pigs from line A grew faster ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.01</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ), showed higher feed intake ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.01</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ) and reached a higher final body weight ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo>≤</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.01</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ), but they had a similar efficiency ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.179</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ). Leaner carcasses and heavier primal cuts ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.001</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ) were observed in pigs from line B. Carcasses from pigs sired by line A had higher meat quality ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.001</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ). Males had a higher growth rate ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo>≤</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.05</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ) but had a poorer feed efficiency ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.01</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ). Heavier birth weight pigs and females had leaner, higher value carcasses with heavier primal cuts ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.001</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ) compared to middle and low birth weight females or males. Sire line by sex interactions was significant for growth ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo>≤</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.05</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ) and carcass traits ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.001</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ). Interaction between sire line and birth weight classes were only detected for loin depth ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.01</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:math> ). Line A is preferable if the numbers of fatting pigs per fattening place and year should be improved, and line B is an option to increase leanness and carcass primal cuts.