Comparative Study of the Growth and Carcass Characteristics of the Nigerian Indigenous and Large White Pigs

Research Article
Comparative Study of the Growth and Carcass Characteristics of the Nigerian Indigenous and Large White Pigs

N.J. Okeudo, N.O. Aladi, I.C. Okoli and E.C. Akanno

Asian Journal of Animal Sciences, 2007, 1(2), 57-66.

Abstract

The growth and carcass characteristics of Large White (LW), Nigerian Indigenous (NI) and their F₁crossbred (LWxNI) pigs were compared across various ages. A total of 51 pigs were used in the study, which comprised 22 NI (12 boars and 10 gilts), 20 LW (10 boars and 10 gilts) and 9 LWxNI crossbred pigs (3 boars and 6 gilts). The three breeds were managed in a similar fashion and slaughtered at 34 weeks of age. There were significant differences (p<0.01) in live weight, Average Daily Gain (ADG), Average Daily Feed Intake (ADFI) and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) among the NI, LW and LWxNI (F₁) crossbred pigs. At 10 weeks of age, LW boars had significantly higher ADG (125.7 g day^-1 versus 78.3 g day^-1) and consumed more feed (326.2 g day^-1 versus 146.8 g day^-1) than the NI boars. Differences in FCR between the NI and LW boars were significant at 25 weeks of age (p<0.05). At similar live weights, LW pigs were significantly (p<0.01) younger and had higher in ADG, ADF1 and FCR values than the other breeds. The carcass of NI male pigs yielded significantly (p<0.05) higher percent lean (53.3% versus 40.0%), higher four lean cuts (57.7% versus 55.0%), higher percent shoulder (20.1% versus 17.6%) but lower dressing percentage (64.6% versus 69.2%) than in the LW male pigs. It is therefore concluded that whereas the NI pigs grew poorly when compared to the LW counterparts, they possess some superior carcass characteristics.

ASCI-ID: 15-10

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