Growing-finishing performance and carcass yield of pigs reared in a climate-controlled and uncontrolled environment.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of temperature on the performance and carcass yield of pigs housed in different environments. Twenty castrated male pigs of the Topigs line were assigned to two treatments: T1, controlled environment, and T2, uncontrolled environment containing a shallow pool. A completely randomized design consisting of two treatments and ten repetitions each was used. The data were submitted to analysis of variance, and means were compared by the Tukey test at a level of significance of 5 % using the SAS 9.2 program (SAS Institute, Inc., NC, USA). The results showed that rearing pigs in an uncontrolled environment during the growing and finishing phases reduced daily feed intake (1.722 and 3.164 kg, respectively) and improved feed conversion (2.15 and 2.70 kg, respectively), but did not influence the carcass yield of the animals. In conclusion, rearing pigs under different environmental conditions during the growing and finishing phases influenced animal performance without interfering with carcass yield.
Department of Technology, College of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Sao Paulo State University, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, 14884-900, São Paulo, Brazil, mapberton@gmail.com.
Mariana Piatto
MP
Berton
Rita
R
de Cássia Dourado
Flávia Biondi Fernandes
FB
de Lima
Ana Beatriz Bertoncello
AB
Rodrigues
Fábio Borba
FB
Ferrari
Leonardo Dimas
LD
do Carmo Vieira
Pedro Alves
PA
de Souza
Hirasilva
H
Borba
D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D004435:Eating; D006799:Housing, Animal; D008297:Male; D013552:Swine; D013696:Temperature; D015430:Weight Gain