Characteristics of pedigree herds of a new breeding type of Yorkshire breed pigs in the Republic of Belarus

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to characterize the pedigree herds of the breeding type of Yorkshire pigs being created based on new lines. An analysis of the results of assessing the adaptive capacity of pigs and the productive traits of animals of various lines bred in breeding enterprises of the Republic of Belarus has been presented in the article. The research used breeding and animal science methods. At the fi rst stage, the “adaptation level” index of sows was determined based on the life expectancy of the sow and its breeding use. At the second stage of the research, young animals of various lines were assessed for their own productivity according to the following indicators such as age of reaching live weight of 100 kg, average daily gain from birth to reaching live weight of 100 kg, lifetime meat traits: thickness of back fat, height of the longissimus dorsi muscle, meat content in the body, using the Piglog-105 device (SFK Technology A/S, Denmark). When analyzing the reproductive traits of sows, we took into account such indicators as prolifi cacy (number of piglets at birth), milk production (litter weight at 21 days), litter weight at weaning at 28 days, and livability of the piglets. As a result of the research, the adaptive ability of sows was determined. An assessment of breeding young pigs in terms of lines showed that young animals of the lines Dixon 4988 and Dania 7723 were distinguished by the best age of reaching 100 kg of live weight and the average daily gain from birth to reaching the weight of 100 kg at the level of 150,8–159,6 days and 685–710 g. In animals of other lines, early maturity was lower by 8,7–30,9 days or 5,17–17,0 % (p ≤ 0,001). A similar trend remained in the average daily gain in live weight. It has been established that the largest value for prolifi cacy was 13,9–15,1 heads per farrowing was observed in sows belonging to the lines Dania 7723 and Dixon 4988. In sows of other lines, the rate was lower by 1,4–3,1 heads or 11,2–25,8 % (p ≤ 0,05). High milk production was detected in sows of the lines Dixon 4988 and Reichil 5507 (64,8–65,6 kg), which was 0,4–7,4 kg or 0,62–12,7 % (p ≤ 0,01) higher than in animals of other lines. The best livability rate was found in sows of the lines Dobry 2313 and Reichil 5507, which was 1,0–4,1 abs.% higher than in sows of other lines.