Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T03:39:55.508Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Immunocastrated male pigs: effect of 4 v. 6 weeks time post second injection on performance, carcass quality and meat quality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2016

M. Aluwé ,
I. Degezelle ,
L. Depuydt ,
D. Fremaut ,
A. Van den Broeke  and
S. Millet
M. Aluwé*
Affiliation:
Animal Sciences Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Scheldeweg 68, 9090 Melle, Belgium
I. Degezelle
Affiliation:
VIVES University College, Doorniksesteenweg 145, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium
L. Depuydt
Affiliation:
VIVES University College, Doorniksesteenweg 145, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium
D. Fremaut
Affiliation:
University of Ghent, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, 9000 Gent, Belgium
A. Van den Broeke
Affiliation:
Animal Sciences Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Scheldeweg 68, 9090 Melle, Belgium
S. Millet
Affiliation:
Animal Sciences Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Scheldeweg 68, 9090 Melle, Belgium
*
† E-mail: marijke.aluwe@ilvo.vlaanderen.be
Get access

Abstract

Immunocastration or vaccination against boar taint can be used as alternative for surgical castration of male piglets. The vaccine is administrated twice. After the second vaccination (V2), the pigs behave like barrows instead of boars and their feed intake increases which may result in a lower lean meat percentage. The timing of V2 is therefore crucial to find the right balance between the advantages of entire males and barrows. In this study, we evaluated the effect of time post second injection within the advised time frame (4 v. 6 weeks before slaughter) on behaviour, performance, carcass and meat quality of immunocastrated male pigs. In total, 180 animals (hybrid sow×Piétrain): 60 gilts, 60 male pigs vaccinated 6 weeks before slaughter (IM-6) and 60 male pigs vaccinated 4 weeks before slaughter (IM-4), all slaughtered at comparable slaughter weights. After 20 weeks of age, IM-6 showed more inactive behaviour at the expense of playing and aggressive behaviour. Daily feed intake (DFI), daily gain (DG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) did not differ significantly between IM-6 and IM-4. Gilts had a lower DFI and DG in the late finishing phase and a higher FCR overall compared with both IM groups. Gilts showed a higher lean meat content compared with both IM groups. Earlier vaccination increased dressing percentage, which could partly be explained by the lower weight of the gastrointestinal tract, but not by testes weight. Meat quality traits and palatability did not differ significantly between IM-6 and IM-4. Vaccination of immunocastrates at 6 compared with 4 weeks before slaughter improved the calmness in the stable and the dressing percentage, while maintaining performance and carcass characteristics.

Keywords

vaccinationGnRHdressing percentageboarscastration
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 10 , Issue 9 , September 2016 , pp. 1466 - 1473
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aluwé, M, Langendries, KCM, Bekaert, KM, Tuyttens, FAM, De Brabander, DL, De Smet, S and Millet, S 2013. Effect of surgical castration, immunocastration and chicory-diet on the meat quality and palatability of boars. Meat Science 94, 402–407.Google Scholar
Aluwé, M, Tuyttens, FA and Millet, S 2015. Field experience with surgical castration with anaesthesia, analgesia, immunocastration and production of entire male pigs: performance, carcass traits and boar taint prevalence. Animal 9, 500–508.Google Scholar
Andersson, K, Brunius, C, Zamaratskaia, G and Lundstrom, K 2012. Early vaccination with Improvac (R): effects on performance and behaviour of male pigs. Animal 6, 87–95.Google Scholar
Batorek, N, Candek-Potokar, M, Bonneau, M and Van Milgen, J 2012. Meta-analysis of the effect of immunocastration on production performance, reproductive organs and boar taint compounds in pigs. Animal 6, 1330–1338.Google Scholar
Bligh, EG and Dyer, WJ 1959. A rapid method of total lipid extraction and purification. Canadian Journal of Biochemistry and Physiology 37, 911–917.Google Scholar
Boccard, R, Buchter, L, Casteels, E, Cosentino, E, Dransfield, E, Hood, DE, Joseph, RL, Macdougall, DB, Rhodes, DN, Schon, I, Tinbergen, BJ and Touraille, C 1981. Procedures for measuring meat quality characteristics in beef-production experiments: report of a working group in the commission of the European communities’ (Cec) beef production research program. Livestock Production Science 8, 385–397.Google Scholar
Boler, DD, Killefer, J, Meeuwse, DM, King, VL, McKeith, FK and Dilger, AC 2012. Effects of slaughter time post-second injection on carcass cutting yields and bacon characteristics of immunologically castrated male pigs. Journal of Animal Science 90, 334–344.Google Scholar
Bonneau, M and Enright, WJ 1995. Immunocastration in cattle and pigs. Livestock Production Science 42, 193–200.Google Scholar
Brunius, C, Zamaratskaia, G, Andersson, K, Chen, G, Norrby, M, Madej, A and Lundstrom, K 2011. Early immunocastration of male pigs with Improvac (R): effect on boar taint, hormones and reproductive organs. Vaccine 29, 9514–9520.Google Scholar
Cronin, GM, Dunshea, FR, Butler, KL, McCauley, I, Barnett, JL and Hemsworth, P 2003. The effects of immuno- and surgical-castration on the behaviour and consequently growth of group-housed, male finisher pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81, 111–126.Google Scholar
Dunshea FR, McCauley I, Jackson P, Long KA, Nugent EA, Simons JA, Walker J and Hennessy DP 2008. An immunocastration vaccine decreases boar taint compounds for at least 8 weeks after the second vaccination. In Proceedings of the 59th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2919–2930.Google Scholar
Dunshea, FR, Allison, JRD, Bertram, M, Boler, DD, Brossard, L, Campbell, R, Crane, JP, Hennessy, DP, Huber, L, de Lange, C, Ferguson, N, Matzat, P, McKeith, F, Moraes, PJU, Mullan, BP, Noblet, J, Quiniou, N and Tokach, M 2013. The effect of immunization against GnRF on nutrient requirements of male pigs: a review. Animal 7, 1769–1778.Google Scholar
Font i Furnols, M, Gispert, M, Soler, J, Diaz, M, Garcia-Regueiro, JA, Diaz, I and Pearce, MC 2012. Effect of vaccination against gonadotrophin-releasing factor on growth performance, carcass, meat and fat quality of male Duroc pigs for dry-cured ham production. Meat Science 91, 148–154.Google Scholar
Gispert M, Oliver MA, Velarde A, Suarez P, Perez J and Furnols MFI 2010. Carcass and meat quality characteristics of immunocastrated male, surgically castrated male, entire male and female pigs. Meat Science 85, 664–670.Google Scholar
Gonyou, HW, Chapple, RP and Frank, GR 1992. Productivity, time budgets and social aspects of eating in pigs penned in groups of 5 or individually. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 34, 291–301.Google Scholar
Honikel, KO 1987. How to measure the water-holding capacity of meat? Recommendation of standardized methods. In Evaluation and control of meat quality in pigs (ed. PV Tarrant, G Eikelenboom and G Monin), pp. 129–142. Martinus Nijhof, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.Google Scholar
Ingram DL and Dauncey MJ 1985. Circadian rhythms in the pig. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology 82, 1–5.Google Scholar
Lealiifano, AK, Pluske, JR, Nicholls, RR, Dunshea, FR, Campbell, RG, Hennessy, DP, Miller, DW, Hansen, CF and Mullan, BP 2011. Reducing the length of time between slaughter and the secondary gonadotropin-releasing factor immunization improves growth performance and clears boar taint compounds in male finishing pigs. Journal of Animal Science 89, 2782–2792.Google Scholar
Millet, S, Gielkens, K, De Brabander, D and Janssens, GPJ 2011. Considerations on the performance of immunocastrated male pigs. Animal 5, 1119–1123.Google Scholar
Pauly, C, Luginbuhl, W, Ampuero, S and Bee, G 2012. Expected effects on carcass and pork quality when surgical castration is omitted: results of a meta-analysis study. Meat Science 92, 858–862.Google Scholar
Pauly, C, Spring, P, O’Doherty, JV, Kragten, SA and Bee, G 2009. Growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of group-penned surgically castrated, immunocastrated (Improvac (R)) and entire male pigs and individually penned entire male pigs. Animal 3, 1057–1066.Google Scholar
R Core Team 2013. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria. Retrieved on June 2015 from www.R-project.org Google Scholar
Rydhmer, L, Lundstrom, K and Andersson, K 2010. lmmunocastration reduces aggressive and sexual behaviour in male pigs. Animal 4, 965–972.Google Scholar
Skrlep, M, Candek-Potokar, M, Batorek, N, Segula, B, Prevolnik, M, Pugliese, C and Bonneau, M 2012. Length of the interval between immunocastration and slaughter in relation to boar taint and carcass traits. Acta Agriculturae Slovenica 3, (suppl.) 247–251.Google Scholar
Skrlep, M, Segula, B, Prevolnik, M, Kirbis, A, Fazarinc, G and Candek-Potokar, M 2010. Effect of immunocastration (Improvac (R)) in fattening pigs II: carcass traits and meat quality. Slovenian Veterinary Research 47, 65–72.Google Scholar
Turner SP, Farnworth MJ, White I, Brotherstone S, Mendl M, Knap P, Penny P and Lawrence AB 2006. The accumulation of skin lesions and their use as a predictor of individual aggressiveness in pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 96, 245–259.Google Scholar
Weiler, U, Gotz, M, Schmidt, A, Otto, M and Muller, S 2013. Influence of sex and immunocastration on feed intake behavior, skatole and indole concentrations in adipose tissue of pigs. Animal 7, 300–308.Google Scholar
Williams, EJ 1949. Experimental designs balanced for the estimation of residual effects of treatments. Australian Journal of Chemistry 2, 149–168.Google Scholar