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Ramirez BC, Hoff SJ, Hayes MD, Brown-Brandl T, Harmon JD, Rohrer GA. A review of swine heat production: 2003 to 2020. FRONTIERS IN ANIMAL SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2022.908434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Swine heat production (HP) data are an essential element of numerous aspects affecting swine production sustainability, such as, housing environmental control design, energetics and thermoregulation modeling, as well as understanding of feed energy partitioning. Accurate HP values that reflect the continuous advances in growth, nutrition, health, and reproduction are needed to update outdated models and data; hence, this review of swine HP values is a critical contribution. This review updates the last previous review conducted in 2004, by reviewing literature from growing and breeding pigs from 2003 to 2020. In total, 33 references were identified that provided relevant HP data and from these references, 192 records were identified for pigs ranging in weight from 12.5 to 283 kg and exposed to temperatures between 12.0°C and 35.5°C. For growing pigs at thermoneutral conditions, a 4.7% average increase in HP was observed compared to HP data summarized from 1988 to 2004. Only five records were identified for gestating sows and the 43 records for lactating sows plus litter. This sow data shows high variability and inconsistent trends with temperature, most likely attributed to variation in experimental protocols, management, and limited reported information. There is still a lack of data on growing pigs greater than 105 kg, gilts and gestating sows housed in different systems (stall, pen, mixed, etc.), and latent HP values that reflect different housing systems. Further, there is a need to standardize reporting of HP values (with an example provided) across different disciplines to drive documentation of increased swine production efficiency, environmental control design, and energetics modeling.
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Zomeño C, Gispert M, Brun A, Carabús A, Soler J, Font-I-Furnols M. Productive performance and in vivo body composition across the growing and finishing period and carcass traits in pigs of four sex types. Meat Sci 2022; 192:108909. [PMID: 35863210 DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2022.108909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This study compares performance, body and carcass composition among castrated (CM), immunocastrated (IM) and entire males (EM), and females (FE) at 30, 70, 100 and 120 kg of body weight (total of n = 92; 20-24/sex type). Overall, IM had similar growth and feed intake to CM and greater than EM and FE. At each slaughter stage, IM had a lower killing-out percentage than CM and FE, in line with their heavier liver and kidneys. Flare fat proportion and backfat thickness on the ham and at the last rib level were similar for IM, EM and FE, and these were lower than CM. In EM and FE, backfat between the 3rd and 4th last ribs was lower and carcass lean content was higher than in CM, whereas IM were intermediate and not different to the other sexes. Females showed the largest ham proportion, this cut being leaner and less fatty than in CM. Belly proportion was higher in CM than in EM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Zomeño
- IRTA-Food Quality and Technology Program, Finca Camps i Armet s/n, 17121 Monells, Girona, Spain
| | - Marina Gispert
- IRTA-Food Quality and Technology Program, Finca Camps i Armet s/n, 17121 Monells, Girona, Spain
| | - Albert Brun
- IRTA-Food Quality and Technology Program, Finca Camps i Armet s/n, 17121 Monells, Girona, Spain
| | - Anna Carabús
- IRTA-Food Quality and Technology Program, Finca Camps i Armet s/n, 17121 Monells, Girona, Spain
| | - Joaquim Soler
- IRTA-Infrastructure Platform, Veïnat de Sies s/n, 17121 Monells, Girona, Spain
| | - Maria Font-I-Furnols
- IRTA-Food Quality and Technology Program, Finca Camps i Armet s/n, 17121 Monells, Girona, Spain.
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Batorek-Lukač N, Čandek-Potokar M, Škrlep M, Kubale V, Labussière E. Effect of Changes in Dietary Net Energy Concentration on Growth Performance, Fat Deposition, Skatole Production, and Intestinal Morphology in Immunocastrated Male Pigs. Front Vet Sci 2022; 8:789776. [PMID: 34970619 PMCID: PMC8712477 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.789776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nutritional requirements of heavy immunocastrated (IM) pigs and therefore appropriate feeding strategies have not yet been determined. Thus, the effects of changes in dietary net energy (NE) content were studied in 41 IM pigs, fed ad libitum diets with low, medium, and high NE content (LNE, MNE, and HNE diets, with 8.5, 9.3, and 10.0 MJ NE/kg, respectively), from 84 days of age until slaughter at an average age of 172 days and an average body weight of 122.5 kg. In the period from 143 to 170 days of age, there was a tendency for a greater NE intake (p = 0.08) in pigs fed the HNE diet along with greater (p < 0.01) backfat gain. Dietary treatment affected carcass composition, as lower backfat thickness (p = 0.01) and lower area of fat over the longissimus muscle (p = 0.05) were observed in the LNE and MNE pigs. In addition, greater lean meat content (p = 0.04) was observed in the LNE pigs. Reducing the NE of the diet by replacement of cereals and soybean meal with high-fiber ingredients resulted in lower indole production in the ascending colon (p < 0.01) and greater skatole production (p < 0.01) in the cecum. Greater villus area, width, height and perimeter, crypt depth, and thickness of the intestinal mucosa in the jejunum, ileum, ascending colon, and descending colon were found in the LNE group (p < 0.01) than in the HNE group, while those in the MNE group was intermediate. Cell proliferation was not affected by dietary treatment (p > 0.05). The present results show that a reduction in dietary NE concentration lowers lipid deposition, without affecting performance or energy efficiency in IM pigs. This technique provides an advantage in terms of improved leanness, without affecting growth rate in IM pigs after immunization, which is particularly important when the backfat thickness is a determinant of carcass value and IM pigs are fattened to higher weights (e.g., in heavy pig production) or when a longer delay between immunization and slaughter is practiced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Batorek-Lukač
- Agricultural institute of Slovenia, Animal Production Department, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | | | - Martin Škrlep
- Agricultural institute of Slovenia, Animal Production Department, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Valentina Kubale
- Veterinary Faculty, Institute of Preclinical Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Poklukar K, Čandek-Potokar M, Vrecl M, Batorek-Lukač N, Fazarinc G, Kress K, Stefanski V, Škrlep M. Adipose Tissue Gene Expression of Entire Male, Immunocastrated and Surgically Castrated Pigs. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:1768. [PMID: 33578947 PMCID: PMC7916650 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22041768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Differences in adipose tissue deposition and properties between pig male sex categories, i.e., entire males (EM), immunocastrates (IC) and surgical castrates (SC) are relatively well-characterized, whereas the underlying molecular mechanisms are still not fully understood. To gain knowledge about the genetic regulation of the differences in adipose tissue deposition, two different approaches were used: RNA-sequencing and candidate gene expression by quantitative PCR. A total of 83 differentially expressed genes were identified between EM and IC, 15 between IC and SC and 48 between EM and SC by RNA-sequencing of the subcutaneous adipose tissue. Comparing EM with IC or SC, upregulated genes related to extracellular matrix dynamics and adipogenesis, and downregulated genes involved in the control of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism were detected. Differential gene expression generally indicated high similarity between IC and SC as opposed to EM, except for several heat shock protein genes that were upregulated in EM and IC compared with SC. The candidate gene expression approach showed that genes involved in lipogenesis were downregulated in EM compared with IC pigs, further confirming RNA-sequencing results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klavdija Poklukar
- Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova ulica 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (K.P.); (M.Č.-P.); (N.B.-L.)
| | - Marjeta Čandek-Potokar
- Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova ulica 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (K.P.); (M.Č.-P.); (N.B.-L.)
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Pivola 10, 2311 Hoče, Slovenia
| | - Milka Vrecl
- Institute of Preclinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.V.); (G.F.)
| | - Nina Batorek-Lukač
- Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova ulica 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (K.P.); (M.Č.-P.); (N.B.-L.)
| | - Gregor Fazarinc
- Institute of Preclinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (M.V.); (G.F.)
| | - Kevin Kress
- Behavioural Physiology of Livestock, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 17, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; (K.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Volker Stefanski
- Behavioural Physiology of Livestock, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 17, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; (K.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Martin Škrlep
- Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova ulica 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (K.P.); (M.Č.-P.); (N.B.-L.)
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Poklukar K, Čandek-Potokar M, Vrecl M, Batorek-Lukač N, Fazarinc G, Kress K, Weiler U, Stefanski V, Škrlep M. The effect of immunocastration on adipose tissue deposition and composition in pigs. Animal 2020; 15:100118. [PMID: 33712216 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2020.100118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunocastrated pigs (IC) exhibit intensive fat deposition after immunisation, but the underlying mechanisms of intensified fat metabolism and deposition are not yet fully understood. Moreover, there is also a lack of comparative studies performed on IC, entire males (EM) and surgical castrates (SC). The main objective of our research was, therefore, to characterise the adipose tissue from the quantitative, histo-morphological and biochemical perspectives in IC 5 weeks after their immunisation in comparison to EM and SC. Immunocastrated pigs had an intermediate position in carcass fatness traits between EM (the leanest) and SC (the fattest). The histo-morphological traits of the subcutaneous adipose tissue of IC were similar to those of SC and differed from those of EM; i.e., they exhibited larger adipocytes in the outer backfat and a larger lobulus surface area in both backfat layers than EM. Intensive fat tissue development in IC was corroborated with higher activities of lipogenic enzymes (i.e., fatty acid synthase, malic enzyme, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, citrate cleavage enzyme), which was especially pronounced in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of IC (1.5- to 2.7-fold higher activity than in EM or SC). The fatty acid composition of the backfat in IC was similar to that in EM pigs. Both IC and EM exhibited less saturated and more polyunsaturated fatty acids than SC. In contrast, the fatty acid composition of the intramuscular fat of longissimus dorsi muscle in IC pigs was more similar to SC than to EM (higher monounsaturated and lower polyunsaturated fatty acid content in IC and SC than EM). In this study, it was demonstrated that immunocastration notably influenced lipid metabolism. This was shown by increased quantity of lipid depots and with changes in adipose tissue cellularity compared to EM, with changes in the fatty acid composition of the intramuscular fat and enhanced lipogenic activity compared to both EM and SC. These results provide new insights into the specificity of adipose tissue development and deposition in IC compared to EM and SC.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Poklukar
- Animal Science Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - M Čandek-Potokar
- Animal Science Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Pivola 10, 2311 Hoče, Slovenia
| | - M Vrecl
- Institute of Preclinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - N Batorek-Lukač
- Animal Science Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - G Fazarinc
- Institute of Preclinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - K Kress
- Behavioral Physiology of Livestock, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 17, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - U Weiler
- Behavioral Physiology of Livestock, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 17, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - V Stefanski
- Behavioral Physiology of Livestock, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 17, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - M Škrlep
- Animal Science Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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Škrlep M, Tomašević I, Mörlein D, Novaković S, Egea M, Garrido MD, Linares MB, Peñaranda I, Aluwé M, Font-i-Furnols M. The Use of Pork from Entire Male and Immunocastrated Pigs for Meat Products-An Overview with Recommendations. Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:E1754. [PMID: 32993171 PMCID: PMC7601181 DOI: 10.3390/ani10101754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 09/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to the strong public initiative in Europe and increased regulator focus to mitigate pain, surgical castration of pigs is being gradually abandoned, while the importance of other sex categories like entire males (EM) and immunocastrates (IC) increases. Although beneficial for animal welfare and economics, their use also brings forward several quality problems. Besides the occurrence of boar taint in EM, these include excessive carcass leanness, softer fat, meat color and pH deviations, inferior water holding capacity and increased meat toughness. In this paper, the raw material differences between the male sex categories and their influence on product quality are reviewed, and possible solutions are presented. Using EM for dried or thermally processed products may result in lower processing yields and inferior sensory quality, which may partially be prevented by applying specific processing adaptations. Immunocastration is a viable solution, especially when prolonging the vaccination to slaughter interval. Low to medium levels of boar taint can be effectively managed in most of the meat products, applying procedures like cooking, microbial inoculation or masking (by spices and especially smoking), while highly tainted material can be valorized only by combining various methods and/or with dilution of the tainted meat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Škrlep
- Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova ulica 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Igor Tomašević
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia; (I.T.); (S.N.)
| | - Daniel Mörlein
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Göttingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075 Göttingen, Germany;
| | - Saša Novaković
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia; (I.T.); (S.N.)
| | - Macarena Egea
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Murcia, Espinardo, 30071 Murcia, Spain; (M.E.); (M.D.G.); (M.B.L.); (I.P.)
| | - María Dolores Garrido
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Murcia, Espinardo, 30071 Murcia, Spain; (M.E.); (M.D.G.); (M.B.L.); (I.P.)
| | - María Belén Linares
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Murcia, Espinardo, 30071 Murcia, Spain; (M.E.); (M.D.G.); (M.B.L.); (I.P.)
| | - Irene Peñaranda
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Murcia, Espinardo, 30071 Murcia, Spain; (M.E.); (M.D.G.); (M.B.L.); (I.P.)
| | - Marijke Aluwé
- Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Scheldeweg 68, 9090 Melle, Belgium;
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Škrlep M, Poklukar K, Kress K, Vrecl M, Fazarinc G, Batorek Lukač N, Weiler U, Stefanski V, Čandek-Potokar M. Effect of immunocastration and housing conditions on pig carcass and meat quality traits. Transl Anim Sci 2020; 4:txaa055. [PMID: 32705051 PMCID: PMC7284115 DOI: 10.1093/tas/txaa055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated the effects of immunocastration and housing conditions on carcass, meat, and fat quality traits. Immunocastrates (IC, n = 48), entire (EM, n = 48), and surgical castrates (SC, n = 48) male pigs were reared under three different housing conditions. The conditions were standard (n = 36), enriched (n = 36, twice as much space as standard and additional outdoor access), or standard with repeated social mixing (n = 72). Pigs of the IC group were vaccinated at the age of 12 and 22 wk. The animals were slaughtered in four batches, balanced for sex category and housing, at the age of 27 wk reaching 124.7 ± 1.0 kg. Immunocastration led to increased fat deposition (i.e., thicker subcutaneous fat at different anatomical locations, more leaf fat, fatter belly in IC than EM, P < 0.05) but did not affect muscularity traits. As a result, EM exhibited higher and SC lower (P < 0.05) carcass leanness than IC. Fatty acids composition of either subcutaneous or intramuscular fat (IMF) agreed with general adiposity, that is, IC were intermediate between EM and SC exhibiting the lowest and highest fat saturation (P < 0.05), respectively. Compared to SC, EM exhibited higher (P < 0.05) levels of muscle oxidation and collagen content than SC, with IC taking an intermediate position in the case of the level of peroxidation and collagen content, or closer to SC as regards to oxidation of muscle proteins (i.e., carbonyl groups). Meat quality (including marbling score, cooking loss, subjective color redness, and chroma) of IC was similar to EM, and both differed (P < 0.05) from SC. However, IC and SC had less (P < 0.05) tough meat than EM, consistent with protein oxidation. The effect of housing was less evident. Mixing of pigs resulted in lower (P < 0.05) carcass weight and fatness in all sex categories with lower (P < 0.05) oleic and higher (P < 0.05) arachidonic acid in IMF of EM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Škrlep
- Animal Production Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Klavdija Poklukar
- Animal Production Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Kevin Kress
- Department of Behavioural Physiology of Livestock, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Milka Vrecl
- Institute of Preclinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Fazarinc
- Institute of Preclinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Nina Batorek Lukač
- Animal Production Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ulrike Weiler
- Department of Behavioural Physiology of Livestock, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Volker Stefanski
- Department of Behavioural Physiology of Livestock, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Marjeta Čandek-Potokar
- Animal Production Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Pivola, Hoče, Slovenia
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Abstract
Immunocastration, a technique to replace surgical castration of piglets, consists of two consecutive vaccinations to induce antibodies which transiently suppress testicular functions and avoid boar taint. It is a method to ensure both a high product quality and a high level of animal welfare. The impact of immunocastration on the three pillars of sustainability has been studied extensively. While all aspects of sustainability have been studied separately, however, a contemporary global overview of different aspects is missing. In immunocastrates, performance results are better than in barrows, but worse than in boars. The environmental impact of pork production with immunocastrates is lower than with barrows, but higher than with boars. The level of aggression is considerably lower in immunocastrates compared to boars. Societal concerns are mainly related to food safety, and are not supported by scientific evidence. After second vaccination, immunocastrates switch from a boar- to a barrow-like status. Therefore, the timing of second vaccination is a fine-tuning tool to balance advantages of boars with environmental and economic benefits against increased risk of welfare problems and boar taint. Nevertheless, both synergic and conflicting relationships between the pillars of sustainability must be communicated along the value chain to produce tailored pork products.
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Zhang S, Zhang X, Qiao H, Chen J, Fang C, Deng Z, Guan W. Effect of timing of post-weaning supplementation of soybean oil and exogenous lipase on growth performance, blood biochemical profiles, intestinal morphology and caecal microbial composition in weaning pigs. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/1828051x.2018.1426392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shihai Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaofeng Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hanzhen Qiao
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jun Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chen Fang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zixiao Deng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wutai Guan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
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Age at castration (surgical or immunological) impacts carcass characteristics and meat quality of male pigs. Animal 2017; 12:648-656. [PMID: 28803576 DOI: 10.1017/s1751731117002063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
In order to accurately estimate body composition at slaughter and to meet specific market targets, the influence of age at time of castration (surgical or immunological) on body composition and boar taint indicators must be determined for male pigs. In all, 48 males were randomly assigned to one of four management regimens: (1) entire male pigs (EM), (2) EM surgically castrated at ~40 kg BW and 10 weeks of age (late castrates; LC), (3) conventional, early surgical castrates (within 4 days of birth; EC) and (4) EM immunized with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog (primary dose at 30 kg BW and 8 weeks of age; booster dose at 70 kg and 14 weeks of age; IM). Pigs were fed corn and soybean meal-based diets that were not limiting in essential nutrients. Back fat was sampled on days -3, 8, 18 and 42, relative to administering the booster dose of GnRH analog at day 0, to determine androstenone concentrations (n=8 or 9/group). Fat androstenone concentrations in IM were lower than EM between days 8 and 42 after administering the booster dose (173 v. 863 ng/g, respectively; P<0.01), and were not different from surgically castrated males (EC and LC) after day 18. Slaughter occurred at ~115 kg BW, 42 days (6 weeks) after administering the booster dose for IM, and 10 and 20 weeks after surgical castration for LC and EC, respectively (n=8 or 9/group). At slaughter, live BW, liver weight as a percent of live BW, dissectible bone as a percent of cold carcass side, body protein and water contents and whole-body protein deposition decreased with time after surgical castration (linear; P<0.05), whereas dressing percentage, dissectible fat, probe fat depth and body fat content increased with time after surgical castration (linear; P<0.05). The IM had intermediate dressing percentage and dissected fat to EM and EC, whereas liver weight as a percent of live BW and body protein and lipid contents were not different from EM. Whole-body lipid deposition tended to be greater in IM than in EM between 14 and 20 weeks of age (373 v. 286 g/d; P=0.051). In conclusion, castration of male pigs after 6 weeks of age has a lasting effect on physical and chemical body composition. The relationship between time after castration and body composition may be developed to predict carcass composition and can be used to determine the ideal immunization schedule aimed at specific markets in the future.
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