Premium
The influences of weaning age and weight on carcass traits and meat quality of pigs
Author(s) -
KO Kyung Bo,
Kim GapDon,
Kang DongGeun,
Kim YeongHwa,
Yang IkDong,
Ryu YounChul
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
animal science journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.606
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1740-0929
pISSN - 1344-3941
DOI - 10.1111/asj.12314
Subject(s) - weaning , marbled meat , zoology , carcass weight , biology , body weight , veterinary medicine , medicine , endocrinology
The purpose of this study was to establish the effects of weaning age and weight on pigs, and their interaction with carcass traits and meat quality. A total of 468 piglets were obtained from 57 sows and four boars and grouped by age at weaning ( D21 , 18–24 days; D28 , 25–32 days). Each weaning group was subdivided into three weight groups ( L , M and H ) according to weaning weight. The D28 group had heavier carcass weight, redness and yellowness, but had lower marbling scores and less drip loss than the D21 group ( P < 0.05). The pigs with a light weight at weaning had higher carcass weights and lower yellowness than did pigs with a medium or heavy weight at weaning ( P < 0.05). Weaning age was found to have a negative correlation with drip loss, while weaning weight was negatively correlated with carcass weight and drip loss ( P < 0.05). We concluded that carcass and meat quality traits in pigs were significantly related to their age and weight at weaning. Therefore, we find that piglet weaning age and weight are no less important than post‐weaning growth performance and behavior, with regard to carcass traits and meat quality.