2004 Volume 41 Issue 4 Pages 228-236
Three-way cross pigs (Hampshire, Large Yorkshire, Landrace, Duroc)—intact males, littermate females, and males castrated 35 days after birth—were group-fed high energy feed in order to examine their growth rate, meat production, and meat quality.
1. It took intact male, castrated male, and female pigs 188, 191, and 200 days to reach 100kg in body weight, respectively. Intact males had the highest daily growth rate among the 3 groups of pigs, though the differences were small.
2. Females had the best carcass yielding rate at 66.3%. That of intact males was 62.3%. For three-way cross pigs, cross of loin section meat, obtained from between the 5th and 6th thoracic vertebrae rib eye area was largest in the male. That of castrated males and females were 30% less. Intact males also had the largest amount of red meat, estimated at 61.5% from the cross section of the loin meat. That of castrated males was 6.9% less.
3. Meat quality was better in intact males than in castrated males in the reddishness of meat, ability to retain moisture, muscle fiber thickness, and melting temperatures of fat tissue.
4. Meat quality did not suffer from foul odor.
