PSII-10 - Growth Rates in Piglets After the Introduction of Spot Genetics

Growth curve, ADG, and feed efficiency were measured for Spot pigs. Growth curves are essential for livestock producers to keep a record of growth and feed efficiency as benchmarks used for management goals and consistency. Growth and development data exists for breeds such as Yorkshires and Landraces. However, fewer data are available for pure Spot or introduced Spot genetics. Spots, or Spotted Swine, are a breed of pig with ancestry to the original Poland China. Four litters (n=44) from the same sire were tracked for weight, ADG, and feed conversion from farrowing through nursery. All pigs were housed in DVU’s Swine Science Center, an indoor, temperature, and ventilation-controlled facility. Weights were collected daily farrow to wean and then weekly thereafter. Pigs were introduced to a creep feed at approximately 10 days. Pigs were weaned at 21d (i.e., 3wks). The average weaning weights ranged from 5.0 to 8.3 kg, the ADG for each litter ranged from 0.17 to 0.32 kg. A pelleted 21% crude protein nursery ration was fed ad libitum. Pigs were kept in pens by their respective litter and weights were then collected on a weekly basis for a total of 56 days. The average weights ranged from 41 to 47.1 kg and the ADG ranged from 0.62 to 0.68 kg, and the F:G ratio ranged from 1.48 to 2.88. Statistics were compared using an ANOVA and T-test (Table 1). A p-value where P < 0.05 indicated significant differences in means. Pen 3, a smaller litter size, had significantly higher ADG and final weights. These findings can be compared to data for other breeds on a similar ration to determine if Spot genetics improve feed efficiency.