In large litters birth weight and gender is decisive for growth performance but less for carcass and pork quality traits

Frequency of behavioural activities, growth performance and pork quality were determined for pigs with homozygous-normal (NN) or heterozygous-carrier (Nn) genotypes for porcine stress syndrome receiving dietary supplementation of magnesium aspartate hydrochloride (MAH). One hundred and forty-two pigs, 67.2 ± 1.2 kg, were assigned by genotype and gender to one of three dietary treatments. The pigs were fed a conventional cereal-based pelleted diet (Control), supplemented with a long-term, low-level (LL-MAH; 5 mg kg−1 BW for 43 ± 3 d) or short-term, high-level (SH-MAH; 40 mg kg−1 BW for 7 d) of MAH before slaughter. Supplementation of MAH did not significantly affect the behaviour of pigs before or after transport for slaughter with the exception of SH-MAH-fed pigs showing a higher (P < 0.05) frequency of pre-transport aggression. Pigs with the Nn genotype were, in general, more active 1 h before slaughter showing a higher frequency (P = 0.001) of aggression. Average daily gain of LL-MAH-fed pigs was higher (P < 0.05) than for those pigs fed the Control and SH-MAH diets. Pigs receiving both levels of MAH had lower (P < 0.05) longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle lean depth. In terms of pork quality, there were significant diet-by-genotype interactions. For pigs with the NN genotype, SH-MAH caused higher (P < 0.05) ultimate pH, lower muscle temperature and lower shear value of the LT. For pigs with the Nn genotype, MAH at both levels lowered (P < 0.05) glycogen content and subjective structure score of the LT, but ultimate pH, muscle temperature and lactate content were higher (P < 0.05) than those of Controls. Efficacy of MAH supplementation to pigs appears to be highly dependent on diet and genotype. Key words: Pigs, porcine stress syndrome, magnesium, pork

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Exploring Increased Intestinal Lipid Absorption and Identifying Strategies to Improve Pork Quality in Low-Birth-Weight Swine

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzab042_014 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 547-547

Author(s):

Kun Wang ◽

Yongbo She ◽

Rabban Mangat ◽

Alexander Makarowski ◽

Bimol Roy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lipid Metabolism ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Low Birth Weight ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Dairy Products ◽

Subcutaneous Fat ◽

Lipid Absorption ◽

Pork Quality ◽

Swine Model ◽

The Impact

Abstract Objectives Traditional swine production results in an increasing number of piglets born with low birth weight (LBW) due to intra-uterine competition and growth restriction. LBW piglets often have reduced growth rate compared with normal birth weight (NBW) littermates and can limit production return. We have previously established an LBW swine model of insulin resistance (IR) to study both complications of production as well as obesity-related dyslipidemia (FASEB 2019, PMID:31144992). LBW model exhibits increased intestinal lipid absorption and marbling in pork cuts under nutrition challenge. Additionally, there is emerging data on the nutritional benefits of full fat dairy on IR and associated impaired lipid metabolism. We sought to (1) investigate candidate mechanistic pathways responsible for increased intestinal lipid absorption in LBW swine; and (2) determine the effect of full fat dairy products on growth performance and pork quality in LBW swine. Methods At 5 week of age, NBW piglets were randomly assigned to consume control or high fat (HF) diet; LBW piglets were randomly assigned to consume either HF diet or iso-caloric HF diet with 3 servings per 2000 kcal/day of full fat dairy products (HF + dairy). Five to eight piglets were allocated to each treatment group with a 7-week feeding period. Animals were euthanized at 12 week of age, and fasting blood, carcass and tissue samples were collected. Results CD36 protein expression was significantly higher in small intestine mucosal scrapings from LBW (0.90 ± 0.10) compared with NBW swine (0.50 ± 0.11) when fed a HF diet (p < 0.05). Adding dairy products significantly decreased subcutaneous fat depth (p < 0.05) and increased predicted lean yield % (p < 0.05), yet did not significantly change intestinal CD36 expression, pork quality (shear force, pH & color) or growth performance in HF-fed LBW swine. Data analysis is ongoing in order to assess the impact on lipid metabolism and pork marbling. Conclusions Increased lipid absorption in response to a HF diet in an LBW swine model of IR is partially due to an increased intestinal expression of CD36. Dairy products potentially contribute to the greater lean yield %, which may improve the carcass grading index and compensate the economic loss in LBW swine. Funding Sources Agriculture Funding Consortium NSERC Discovery Program Dairy Farmers of Canada- Nutrition Research Program.

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

Archives Animal Breeding ◽

10.5194/aab-63-367-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (2) ◽

pp. 367-376

Author(s):

Kathrin Elbert ◽

Neal Matthews ◽

Ralf Wassmuth ◽

Jens Tetens

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Meat Quality ◽

Feed Efficiency ◽

Carcass Traits ◽

Final Body Weight ◽

Selection For ◽

And Gender ◽

Terminal Sire ◽

Crossbred Pigs

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 (p<0.01), showed higher feed intake (p<0.01) and reached a higher final body weight (p≤0.01), but they had a similar efficiency (p=0.179). Leaner carcasses and heavier primal cuts (p<0.001) were observed in pigs from line B. Carcasses from pigs sired by line A had higher meat quality (p<0.001). Males had a higher growth rate (p≤0.05) but had a poorer feed efficiency (p<0.01). Heavier birth weight pigs and females had leaner, higher value carcasses with heavier primal cuts (p<0.001) compared to middle and low birth weight females or males. Sire line by sex interactions was significant for growth (p≤0.05) and carcass traits (p<0.001). Interaction between sire line and birth weight classes were only detected for loin depth (p<0.01). 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.

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PSIV-11 Effects of Phytogenic Feed Additives on Growth Performance Traits of Finishing Swine

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skab054.312 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 99 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 187-188

Author(s):

Pengcheng Xue ◽

Don W Giesting ◽

Mark D Newcomb ◽

Chad M Pilcher ◽

Matthew J Ritter

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Random Effect ◽

Live Weight ◽

Feed Additives ◽

Experimental Unit ◽

Finishing Pigs ◽

Performance Traits ◽

And Gender ◽

Dietary Treatments ◽

Commercial Research

Abstract This study was conducted at a commercial research facility and utilized 1,092 finishing pigs (PIC® 337 × Camborough®) in a RCBD with 3 dietary treatments to determine the effects of commercially available phytogenic feed additives on growth performance traits in finishing swine for the last 35 d prior to marketing. The dietary treatments were as follows: 1) Control; 2) Aromex Pro® (AP; Delacon) fed at 0.01%; and 3) Ambitine® (AM; PMI) fed at 0.1%. Pens with 13 pigs/pen and 0.66 m2/pig were randomly allotted to treatments on the basis of live weight and gender. Pigs had ad libitum access to corn-soy diets that met or exceeded the pig’s requirements (NRC, 2012). Aromex Pro® and Ambitine® were added to the diets at the expense of corn. Dietary treatments started on day 0 (BW = 97.7 kg; SEM = 1.04) and were fed throughout the 35 d trial period. On d 21, the two heaviest pigs per pen were marketed, while the remaining pigs in each pen were marketed on d 35. Pigs and feeders were weighed on d 0, 21, and 35. Data were analyzed by using PROC MIXED of SAS® version 9.4, and pen was the experimental unit. The model included the fixed effect of treatment and random effect of replicate. Pre-planned orthogonal contrasts were used to compare AP vs. Control and AM vs. Control. Feeding AP or AM for the last 35 d in finishing both improved (P < 0.05) ADG by 4%, ADFI by 3% and final BW by 1.6 kg over Control, but did not change feed to gain or mortality. These data demonstrate that phytogenic feed additives can improve growth performance traits in finishing swine.

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