Effect of immunocastration on growth performance, gonadal development and carcass and meat quality of SuHuai female pigs

Abstract

The present study was aimed to compare growth performance, gonadal development, carcass characteristic and meat quality among SuHuai entire, immunocastrated and surgically castrated female pigs. Eighty 12-week-old SuHuai gilts were randomly assigned to the following four treatment groups with four pigs per pen and five replicate pens per treatment: control (PBS injection), two-dose Improvac regimen (V2), three-dose Improvac regimen (V3) and surgical castration (S). All pigs had ad libitum access to standard diets and water. The performance and occurrence of oestrus were recorded in the trial. Backfat thickness and loin eye muscle area were recorded ultrasonically. The pigs were slaughtered to measure the weight and size of the uterus, and the weight and activity of the ovaries, to determine the serum concentrations of progesterone, and to evaluate the quality of carcass and meat. There were no significant differences in growth performance among the four groups, except for the V2, which had a better average daily feed intake (P < 0.05). Carcass and meat quality were comparable among the four groups; however, the intramuscular fat in control was higher than the V2 and V3 (P < 0.01). Mean ovary and uterus weights and oestrus of female pigs in V2 and V3 were significantly (P < 0.01) lower than in control, but the difference between the V2 and V3 was not significant. The concentration of progesterone in the control was significantly higher than that in the V2, V3 and S (P < 0.05). These results indicated that immunocastration successfully suppressed gonadal development and had no adverse effects on growth performance, or carcass or meat-quality traits in Chinese SuHuai female pigs.

Immunocastration in Gilts: A Preliminary Study of the Effect of the Second Dose Administration Time on Growth, Reproductive Tract Development, and Carcass and Meat Quality

“…As shown in Table 5 , immunocastration had no effect ( p > 0.05) on color traits ( L*, a*, b*, C* , and H˚ ), cooking losses, and hardness, confirming the findings of other authors [ 10 , 29 , 37 ]. However, the effect of immunization against GnRF on chemical composition of meat from gilts is more controversial.…”

“…When the percentage of gilts with follicles in each category of size was studied, we found that IG presented a greater (p = 0.0003) proportion of females with very small follicles and a lower (p < 0.05) percentage of females with small and intermediate follicles than EG. Consequently, immunocastration prevented the presence of more developed follicles, supporting the results of Xue et al [29], who observed that IG showed immature follicles (3-4 mm) or did not show visible follicles. This effect was more pronounced in the works of Zeng et al [22] and Hernández-García et al [30], which did not find visible follicles in any gilt immunocastrated.…”

“…However, from that moment onwards, IG showed lower progesterone concentration than EG. Xue et al [ 29 ], with Chinese gilts, observed the same effect the day before slaughter, and Hernández-García et al [ 30 ], with purebred Iberian gilts, found the effect from the second vaccination onwards. The greater effect detected with Iberian and Chinese female pigs could be explained in part because these breeds are autochthonous and reach puberty earlier [ 31 ].…”

Influence of Immunocastration and Diet on Meat and Fat Quality of Heavy Female and Male Pigs

“…Maximum stress was also similar ( p = 0.887) in the loins of both types of gilts. Bohrer et al [ 25 ], Martinez-Macipe et al [ 30 ] and Xue et al [ 31 ] also found no differences between EG and IG in other texture parameters, i.e., shear force. Meat from IG had similar protein proportion ( p = 0.204) but lower ( p = 0.034) moisture percentage than that from EG.…”

Sustainability of Pork Production with Immunocastration in Europe

“…However, castration of females jeopardizes animal welfare and increases production costs and infection risks [76,79]. For traditional products, immunocastration is a good alternative to surgical castration or fattening of entire boars or gilts, as neither performance nor product quality are negatively influenced [45,77,[80][81][82]. In a study by Pinna and co-authors [45] with heavy pigs (165 kg live weight) produced for Parma ham, three vaccinations were recommended to prevent boar taint reliably.…”