A note on the behaviour and performance of growing pigs provided with straw in a novel housing system

1993 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Arey ◽  
J. M. Bruce
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Conversion Ratio ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Housing System ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Large White ◽  
Daily Number ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Number Of Visits ◽  
And Performance

AbstractStraw-Flow is a novel housing system for growing pigs which simplifies the handling of bedding and manure by allowing pigs to take unchopped straw from dispensers. Three groups of 50, 50 and 60 Large-White × Landrace pigs were housed in Straw-Flow pens from 5 to 90 kg. They were supplied daily with 50 to 100 g unchopped straw per pig and given food ad libitum. From 30 to 90 kg, mean growth rate was 863 g/day and food conversion ratio was 2·56 kg food per kg growth. The pigs' behaviour was divided approximately into: 0·820 lying, 0·100 active, 0·075 feeding and 0·005 drinking (on a proportional basis). There were no differences (P > 0·05) between groups or different weights for any of the behaviour categories. The pigs were less active before noon than after noon (P < 0·05). The daily number of visits to the drinker between weights 5 and 25 kg fell from 23·7 to 11·0 (P < 0·05). A single drinker, of new design, appeared to be adequate for a group of 50 to 60 pigs.

The behavioural and production responses of finishing pigs to increasing workload to obtain food ad libitum from hopper feeders

1994 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. S. Morrow ◽  
N. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Conversion Ratio ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Finishing Pigs ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Time Spent Feeding

AbstractTwo randomized-block experiments were carried out with growing pigs housed in groups of 10 from about 36 to 92 kg live weight and offered non-pelleted diets from single-space feeders containing separate food and water dispensers both operated by the pigs. The dispensing rate of food could be adjusted and rates of 1·4, 2·7 and 5·3 g per press of the nose plate were compared in experiment 1 and 4·8, 6·9 and 9·3 g per press compared in experiment 2. As dispensing rate increased in experiment 1 there were significant increases in food intake, growth rate and backfat thickness and a significant improvement in food conversion ratio on a carcass gain basis. There was no effect on the variation in growth rate between pigs within pens nor were there treatment effects in experiment 2 on any of the above measurements. The amount of food accumulating in troughs increased with feeder setting in both experiments.Behaviour at feeders was observed in each pen for 24 h during the 5th week using time-lapse video recording. The number of visits to feeders was not significantly affected in either experiment but time spent feeding was significantly increased at the lowest setting in experiment 1. Both the number of withdrawals from feeders accompanied by aggressive encounters and the number of pigs queuing decreased up to the dispensing rate of 6·9 g per press. There were tendencies for all parameters of behaviour to continue changing up to the highest dispensing rate.

Genetic components of growth and ultrasonic fat depth traits in Meishan and Large White pigs and their reciprocal crosses

1992 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Haley ◽  
E. d'Agaro ◽  
M. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Performance Test ◽  
Subcutaneous Fat ◽  
Additive Effect ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Large White ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
The Impact

AbstractGenes from the Chinese Meishan pig have the potential to enhance reproductive performance of European pigs. In order to allow prediction of the impact of Meishan genes in a range of alternative improvement programmes all traits of economic importance must be evaluated and genetic crossbreeding effects estimated. Entire male and female pigs of four genotypes, purebred Meishan (MS) and Large White (LW) pigs and both reciprocal Fl crossbred genotypes (MS ♂ × LW ♀ and LW ♂ × MS ♀), were farrowed in Edinburgh and subsequently performance tested at either Edinburgh or Newcastle. In Edinburgh, animals were penned in groups of four and fed ad libitum between pen mean weights of approximately 30 and 80 kg. At the end of test fat depths at the shoulder, last rib and loin were measured ultrasonically. In Newcastle, animals were penned in groups of six and fed ad libitum between pen mean weights of approximately 30 and 70 kg. Genotypic means and genetic crossbreeding effects (additive and heterosis direct effects and additive maternal effects) were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood.When compared with the LW, the direct additive effect of genes from the MS produced increased growth rate up to the time of weaning, no change in growth rate between weaning and start of test and greatly reduced growth rate during the performance test. The maternal additive effect of genes from the MS was to reduce growth rate up to the time of weaning, with little effect thereafter. There was substantial direct heterosis for growth rate in all periods measured, but heterosis was less in males than in females during the performance test. The combined effect was such that, within sex, the LW and the two crossbred genotypes were of similar ages when they reached 70 and 80 kg, but MS pigs were 38 to 60 days older. The direct additive effect of MS genes was to increase subcutaneous fat levels and there was little evidence for the effects of maternal genes or direct heterosis on these traits. There was a direct additive effect of MS genes reducing food intake and increasing food conversion ratio and there was direct heterosis for increased food intake. There were significant interactions between genotype and sex. Male and female LW pigs had a similar performance but male MS pigs had slower growth rates on the performance test with lower food intakes, food conversion ratios and subcutaneous fat levels than the females.

Effects of number and siting of single-space feeders on performance and feeding behaviour of growing pigs

1994 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. S. Morrow ◽  
N. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Feed Conversion ◽  
Randomized Block Design ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Number Of Visits

SUMMARYTwo experiments of randomized block design were carried out at the Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland in 1991/92 involving groups of 20 pigs fed ad libitum from single-space feeders with built-in water supply from 37 kg to slaughter at 91 kg liveweight.Treatments were replicated 16 and 6 times respectively in Experiments 1 and 2. In the first experiment, one feeder perpen was compared with two feeders per pen positioned side by side. Two feeders increased feed intake (P < 0·05) but had no significant effects on growth rate or feed conversion. With two feeders, the total time that feeders were occupied and the number of visits to feeders were both increased, while the number of enforced withdrawals from feeders and the amount of queuing were both decreased compared with the single feeder. In the second experiment, placing two feeders 2 m or more apart instead of side by side had no significant effects on feed intake or growth rate but improved feed conversion efficiency by 4%. This improvement was associated with fewer and longer visits to feeders but no difference in enforced withdrawals or queuing. In both experiments all treatments showed broadly similar patterns of diurnal feeding behaviour with two peaks of activity daily, a smaller peak pre-midday and a larger one in the afternoon. This pattern was influenced more by number of visits to feeders than by the mean duration of each visit. It is recommended that two single-space feeders are used in pens of 20 finishing pigs when non-pelleted diets are offered ad libitum and that feeders are sited some distance apart, not side by side.

The association of food conversion ratio, age at slaughter and carcass quality in pigs fed ad libitum

1969 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Owen ◽  
J. R. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Conversion Ratio ◽  
Residual Effects ◽  
Progeny Testing ◽  
Restricted Feeding ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Large White ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Food Conversion Ratio ◽  
Ad Libitum

SUMMARYData from a boar progeny testing scheme based on ad libitum feeding were analysed to test the hypothesis that the resultant correlations of food conversion ratio with related factors would differ from those found under conditions of restricted feeding.The results support the hypothesis, showing that the primarily genetic correlations derived from boar effects for growth and conversion ratio, are lower than those reported elsewhere for restricted feeding. It was also shown that these primarily genetic correlations could vary between breeds, the leanness associated with rapid growth in Wessex not being found in Large White, and that the correlations due to residual effects containing a greater environmental component varied widely from test to test.It is concluded that the parameters used in the design of a genetic improvement scheme should be derived specifically for each breed and feeding system. However, if the marked variability in phenotypic correlations noted here is generally applicable, this could present a difficult problem in the design of pig improvement programmes with multiple objectives.

The influence of dietary protein and level of feeding on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of entire and castrated male pigs

1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Campbell ◽  
R. H. King
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Growth Performance ◽  
Dietary Protein ◽  
Protein Level ◽  
Carcass Characteristics ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Conversion Ratio ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Ad Libitum

ABSTRACT1. Three isocaloric diets containing 170, 210 or 231 g crude protein per kg were given at two levels, and offered ad libitum to entire and castrated male pigs growing from 20 to 70 kg live weight.2. Between 20 and 45 kg, growth rate improved with each increase in level of feeding (P < 005) and, on the ad libitum treatment the food intake and growth performance of both entire and castrated pigs were similar. On the restricted feeding treatments the growth performance of entire, but not of castrated pigs, improved when dietary protein was raised from 170 to 210g/kg (P < 005).3. During the live-weight periods 45 to 70 and 20 to 70kg, raising food intake improved growth rate (P < 005) but increased the food conversion ratio and carcass fat measurements at 70 kg (P < 0·05). However, food conversion ratio and the majority of carcass characteristics of entire pigs fed ad libitum were equivalent to those of castrated pigs fed at the lowest level.4. Dietary protein level had no significant effect on growth performance from 20 to 70 kg or on carcass fat measurements at the latter weight. However, each increase in dietary protein in the live-weight period 45 to 70 kg depressed the performance of castrated pigs (P < 0·05) while that of entire pigs was reduced when the protein level of the diet was raised from 210 to 231 g/kg.

Evaluation of overseas pig breeds using imported semen 1. Growth and carcass performance

1984 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Sutherland ◽  
A. J. Webb ◽  
J. W. B. King
Keyword(s):  
Live Weight ◽  
Conversion Ratio ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Large White ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Carcass Performance ◽  
Economic Worth ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Sufficient Precision ◽  
Imported Semen

SummaryAlthough a given foreign breed may offer worthwhile genetic improvement, the cost of importing purebred stock makes its evaluation difficult. An experiment was performed in which the breeds compared were represented instead by semen from boars standing at national artificial insemination stations in their native countries. Contemporary groups of Large White × Norwegian Landrace females were inseminated, some with British Large White (LW) semen, and some with semen from Canadian Yorkshire (CY), Danish Landrace (DL), Norwegian Landrace (NL), or United States (American) Duroc (AD) or Yorkshire (AY). One pair (male castrate and gilt) from each litter was performance tested from 27 to 82 kg live weight fed ad libitum (AL), another pairwas tested over the same weight range but fed to a time-based scale (TS). The number of LW, CY, DL, AD, AY and NL sires used was 51, 12, 21, 7, 6 and 23 respectively; a total of 401 litterswas evaluated. The differences between the progeny of LW sires and those of CY, DL, AD, AY and NL were, respectively: in daily live-weight gain (g), AL, –30, 40, –80, –50, –40 (maximum s.E. 16) with no significant differences for TS; in food conversion ratio, AL,0·02, – 0·13, 0·03, –0·05, 0·00 and TS, 000, – 0·14, 0·05, –0·03, –0·06 (maximum S.E. 0·049 for both feeding regimens); in percentage of lean by weight in the rumpback joint, AL, –2·1, –1·9, –1·8, 2·3, –0·7 and TS, – 0·1, –0·9, –1·9, 3·0, – 1·4 (maximum s.E. 1·28 for both); in overall economic worth (pence per pig sired), AL, – 150, 50, – 170, 110, – 40 and TS, – 10, 100, – 200, 190, 30 (maximum s.E. 83 for both). The U.S. Yorkshire and Danish Landrace seem unlikely to be of use commercially in the U.K., while the most promising breeds, U.S. Duroc and Canadian Yorkshire, have not yet been evaluated with sufficient precision to reduce the risk involved in their use to an acceptable level.

Selection for components of efficient lean growth in Large White pigs

1994 ◽  
Vol 1994 ◽  
pp. 9-9
Author(s):  
N.D. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Conversion Ratio ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Correlated Responses ◽  
Large White ◽  
Lean Growth ◽  
Food Conversion Ratio ◽  
Daily Food ◽  
Selection For

An experiment was started in 1984 at Edinburgh and Wye to study responses to divergent selection for lean growth rate (LGA), lean food conversion ratio (LFC) and daily food intake (DFI). This paper measured the selection pressure applied, the responses in the selection criteria and estimated the genetic and phenotypic relationships between the selection criteria with ad-libitum feeding of Large White pigs after four generations of selection.Selection objectives and criteria. The LGA (LFC) selection objective was to obtain equal correlated responses in growth rate (food conversion ratio) and carcass lean content, measured in phenotypic s.d. The LGA, LFC and DFI selection criteria had phenotypic s.d. of 27, 29 and 250 units and results are presented in s.d. units.

Growth performance and carcass characteristics of two genotypes of growing-finishing pig in three different housing systems

2002 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Guy ◽  
P. Rowlinson ◽  
J. P. Chadwick ◽  
M. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Growth Performance ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Carcass Characteristics ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Conversion Ratio ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Large White ◽  
Food Conversion Ratio ◽  
Genotype 2

AbstractA trial was conducted to compare the growth performance and carcass characteristics of 720 growing pigs housed in one of three different finishing systems: outdoor paddocks, straw yards and fully slatted pens. Two genotypes were used: ‘indoor’ (progeny of Large White ✕ Landrace sows mated to Large White boars) or ‘outdoor’ (progeny of part-Duroc or part-Meishan sows, mated to Large White boars). Groups of 20 pigs were reared from an average of 30 to 80 kg live weight and given ad libitum access to a commercial specification diet. The outdoor genotypes had significantly lower average daily gain than the indoor genotype (682, 673 and 719 g respectively for part-Duroc, part-Meishan and indoor-type pigs, P 0·01). Part-Meishan genotypes had significantly higher backfat levels than the indoor genotype (P 0·05), with an intermediate value for part-Duroc pigs (22·6, 21·1 and 21·8 mm respectively). Values for food conversion ratio were significantly higher for combined outdoor genotype groups when compared with the indoor genotype (2·76 v. jt>2·62, P 0·05). Average daily gains of pigs in straw yards and outdoor paddocks were significantly higher than for those in fully slatted pens (736 and 675 v. 627 g, P 0·01 respectively). Food conversion ratio was similar for pigs in outdoor paddocks and fully slatted pens, but significantly lower for those in straw yards (2·77 and 2·75 v. 2·55, P 0·01 respectively). Backfat depth (P1 + P3mm) was significantly greater for animals finished in straw yards compared to those in outdoor paddocks (22·2 v. 20·6 mm, P 0·05) and intermediate for those finished in fully slatted pens (21·5 mm). Interaction between finishing system and genotype did not occur to any major degree, hence it appears unnecessary to specify a particular genotype for a particular finishing system. It was concluded that pigs of the outdoor genotype had a lower growth performance compared with the indoor genotype. Finishing systems however may have been confounded by other factors so that no clear recommendations can be made as to the optimum finishing system.

Rate and site of fat deposition in pigs selected for components of efficient lean growth rate

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 ◽  
pp. 12-12
Author(s):  
N.D. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Divergent Selection ◽  
Fat Deposition ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Large White ◽  
Daily Food Intake ◽  
Lean Growth ◽  
Daily Food ◽  
Ad Libitum

Rates and sites of fat deposition were measured in a population of Large White pigs, after six generations of divergent selection on lean growth rate with ad-libitum (LGA) and restricted (LGS) feeding, lean food conversion (LFC) and daily food intake (DFI).

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