Efectos postnatales de la variación de peso al nacimiento en el cerdo ibérico

Abstract

The optimization of profitability in swine production is mainly based on the increase in the kg of meat produced per sow and year and on the homogeneity in the growth and slaughter batches. Thus, in genetically selected commercial breeds, the increase in the number of piglets per litter has been sought. However, litters with a high number of piglets are penalized by increases in birth-weight variability and by a higher percentage of piglets with low birth-weight, due to intrauterine growth restriction processes, which confirm the importance of the prenatal environment. Low birth-weight piglets are affected by higher mortality rates and by alterations in their development and postnatal metabolism, which can affect the carcass and meat quality. All these processes are harmful to the pig farm profitability.The effects of within-litter variability and low birth-weight have never been studied in traditional pig breeds, such as the Iberian pig. The Iberian pig is native to the Iberian Peninsula and especially valued for its high-quality meat products. This fatty pig breed has been scarcely selected and bred in extensive conditions for centuries, showing lower productive and reproductive yields and a greater heterogeneity than lean breeds, as well as different physiological features that characterizes and determines its production...