ORIGINAL PAPER
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Finishing entire male pigs after puberty is not common in Europe due to aggression and boar taint. Alternatives to surgical castration or immunocastration should be explored as the production of entire males can also increase the productivity and sustainability of swine production. This study evaluated the performance, welfare, health, and meat quality of heavier pigs (from 95 to 135 kg) raised without castration. A factorial experiment consisting of 2 housing conditions (H1 control, H2 improved) × 3 diets (D1 – control diet, D2 – 10% beet pulp, D3 – 5% beet pulp + 4% Fibrofos) with 60 entire males randomly allocated to 6 pens, 23 to 30 weeks of age, was conducted using a Pietrain × (Large White × Landrace) cross. Treatment effects were evaluated with respect to growth, carcass yield, skin lesions, cortisol, hemogram, skatole, androstenone and meat physicochemical characteristics. Improved housing with more headspace, larger feeders, extra drinkers, environmental enrichment (organic toys), and group stability until slaughter led to a significant decrease in androstenone levels and benefited animal health and welfare without compromising performance. In addition, diets with inulin from Fibrofos or sugar beet pulp allowed to significantly reduce skatole content. Due to the price, beet pulp is more sustainable and its 10% inclusion did not negatively affect either intake or performance. Raising entire male pigs for carcasses with low boar taint is be possible if adequate space, environmental enrichment, and specific feeds are provided.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to Ana Frias for her help with data collection and laboratory work.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
METADATA IN OTHER LANGUAGES:
Chinese
未去势性成熟后公猪的饲养和环境改善可以获得良好的生 产性能和较低的公猪异味
摘要:由于不去势公猪的攻击性和异味,性成熟后公猪不去势直接进行整体育肥在欧洲并不常见。因此探 索替代手术或免疫去势的公猪生产方式也有助于提高猪的生产力和可持续性。本研究评估了未经去势饲养 体重较大的公猪(95公斤到135公斤)的生产性能、福利、健康和肉质情况。试验采用Pietrain与(大白种× 长白)杂交的未去势公猪为研究对象,将全部60只年龄为23至30周龄的未去势公猪随机分成6栏,进行了2 种舍饲条件(H1对照,H2改良)×3种日粮(D1-对照日粮,D2-10%甜菜粕,D3-5%甜菜粕+4%纤维素酶)的析 因试验。从公猪生长、胴体产量、皮损、皮质醇、血象、粪便、雄烯酮和猪肉理化特性方面进行了效果评 估。在屠宰前,改善舍饲条件、增加头只单位面积、加大食槽、增加饮水装置、环境富集(有机玩具)、 保持群体稳定性导致了公猪雄烯酮水平显著下降,有利于动物健康和福利,同时还不影响性能。此外,含 有来自菊粉产品(Fibrofos)或甜菜渣中的菊粉日粮可以显著降低粪便的含量。考虑到价格原因,甜菜渣更 具可持续性,其10%的含量既不会对摄入或也不会对生产性能产生负面影响。如果提供足够的空间、环境富 集和特定的饲料,以此方式养殖全部未去势公猪以获得低公猪异味的胴体是可能的。
 
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CITATIONS (4):
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