Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T19:58:06.916Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A note on the comparative performance of pigs sired by Piétrain × Large White and Large White boars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

W. C. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU
C. R. Toft
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU
N. Handscombe
Affiliation:
Farm Mark Ltd, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2EQ
Get access

Abstract

A Piétrain × Large White boar and a Large White boar were placed on each of 12 farms where the breeding females were crossbred white sows. Cooperators were requested to obtain 10 litters by each sire and record their performance to slaughter at 60 kg live weight. Breed of sire did not affect litter size or piglet body weight at birth or at weaning, age of progeny at slaughter, carcass mid-line fat depths or colour and condition of the ‘eye muscle’. Piétrain crosses had higher carcass yields (1·8%) and larger eye muscles in cross-section (13·2%) than Large White crosses. They also had less depth of fat above the eye muscle (14 %) but this did not confer any advantage in commercial evaluations.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1978

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Harvey, W. R. 1960. Least squares analysis of data with unequal subclass numbers. United States Department of Agriculture, ARS–20–8 (Mimeograph).Google Scholar
Howard, A. N. and Smith, W. C. 1976. The Belgian Pietrain as a sire of crossbred pigs slaughtered at 64 kg live weight. 1. Performance and carcass characteristics. Anim. Prod. 23: 389393.Google Scholar
King, J. W. B. 1968. [The hybridization of pigs.] Stočarstvo 22: 485493.Google Scholar
Lean, I. J., Curran, M. K., Duckworth, J. E. and Holmes, W. 1972. Studies on Belgian Piétrain pigs. 1. A comparison of Pitrain, Landrace and Piétrain Landrace crosses in growth, carcass characteristics and meat quality. Anim. Prod. 15: 19.Google Scholar
Meat and Livestock Commission. 1973. Progress on pig carcass classification. Tech. Bull. No. 10. Meat and Livestock Commission, Milton Keynes.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. 1971. Piétrain pigs—removal ofcontrols. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, London (Mimeograph).Google Scholar
Smith, W. C., Tonks, H. M. and Lawrence, N. 1967. A note on the use of back rasher ratios as predictors of lean percentage in pigs of bacon weight. Anim. Prod. 9: 255258.Google Scholar