The influence of feeding behaviour on growth performance, carcass and meat characteristics of growing pigs

This study investigated the effect of the feeding behaviour on growth performance, and carcass and meat characteristics of 96 barrows fed ad libitum or restrictively with high or low amino acids (AA) diets according to a 2 x 2 factorial design. The feeding behaviour traits were measured with automated feeders. From 86 kg BW, half of the pigs were given feeds with high indispensable (AA) contents, while the other half received feeds with indispensable AA contents reduced by 9% in early finishing (86-118 kg BW) and by 18% in late finishing (118-145 kg BW). Body lipid and protein retentions were estimated from BW and backfat depth measures recorded at the beginning and end of each period. Pigs were slaughtered at 145 kg BW and carcass and meat quality data were recorded. Phenotypic correlations among feeding behaviours, growth performances, and carcass and meat traits were computed from all the data after adjustment for the effects of feeding treatments. As feeding rate was the behavioural trait most highly correlated with performance and carcass traits, the records of each pig were classified into feeding rate tertiles. Then, the data were statistically analysed using a mixed model, which included feed restriction (FR), AA reduction (AAR), the FR x AAR interaction and the feeding rate tertile as fixed factors, and pen as a random factor. Pigs eating faster (52.1 to 118.9 g/min) had significantly greater final body weights (16%), average daily weight gains (27%), estimated protein gains (22%), estimated lipid retention (46%), carcass weights (16%), weights of lean cuts (14%), weights of fat cuts (21%), proportions of fat in the carcass (14%), and 4% lower proportions of carcass lean cuts than pigs eating slowly (12.6 to 38.2 g/min). Manipulating the eating rate, through management or genetic strategies, could affect feed intake and subsequent growth performance, hence carcass quality, but have little influence on feed efficiency

Responses of pigs of different genotypes to a variation in the dietary indispensable amino acid content in terms of their growth and carcass and meat quality traits

We studied the response of pigs from two crossbred genetic lines (GL) in the 60 to 145 kg body weight interval to a variation in the indispensable amino acid (AA) content of their feed. Ninety-six barrows of two paternal GLs (Hypor Maxter and PIC 337) were housed in eight pens and fed quasi ad libitum on feeds differing in their standardized ileal digestible (SID) indispensable AA contents. Pigs in four pens received feeds containing 9.4 to 8.0 g/kg of SID Lys (HAA), considered non-limiting, while the others received feeds containing 8.5 to 6.5 g/kg of SID Lys (LAA). The two feeds had identical indispensable lysine, methionine, tryptophan and threonine contents per unit of crude protein (CP). Feed intake, growth, carcass weight, and the weights of the lean and fat cuts were recorded, and samples of longissimus lumborum were analyzed. Data were analyzed using a two-way factorial mixed model. The LAA feed lowered the estimated N excretion (p < 0.001) compared with HAA, without affecting growth, carcass or meat quality traits. Genetic line had trivial effects and the AA level 7 genotype interaction was never significant. The two pig genotypes did not differ sufficiently in growth potential and leanness to respond differently

Saints and lovers: myths of the avant-garde in Michel Georges-Michel's Les Montparnos

This article examines Michel Georges-Michel’s 1924 novel Les Montparnos as a study of the myths circulating around the Montparnasse avant-garde of the 1920s, and their function in relation to art. Key amongst these myths is the idea of art as a religion, according to which avant-garde artists are conceived as secular saints and martyrs. While this notion of artist as saint is strongly present in early-twentieth-century biographies of Van Gogh, Georges-Michel explicitly relates his fictionalized version of Modigliani’s life not to such recent models but rather to the Renaissance masters, and especially to Raphael, a link which is explained in terms of the post-war ‘retour à l’ordre’ in French artistic culture. The novel’s references to Raphael as archetypal painter-lover are also related to its construction of a myth of the artist as virile and sexually prolific, and to its identification of creative and sexual impulses

Aspecto clave en la alimentación de las cerdas hiperprolíficas

Las hembras hiperprolíficas son notablemente diferentes a las cerdas estándar y es importante adaptar su alimentación para satisfacer sus crecientes necesidades nutricionalesPublishe

Quality attributes of PDO dry-cured hams as affected by low-protein diets and genetic line of pigs

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of decreasing the crude protein (CP) of diets on several quality attributes of traditional dry-cured hams provided by pigs of two genetic groups (GG) characterized by different potential for lean growth. Hams data originated from 96 pigs, the half fed a conventional diet (CONV), representative of those commonly fed to heavy pig in Italy, the others a low-protein (LP) diet, with a 20% lower CP content with respect to CONV. Pigs were slaughtered at 165 kg average BW and all trimmed hams obtained were processed to produce typical San Daniele dry-cured hams. At the end of seasoning, 10 left dry-cured hams for each diet x GG combination were selected and analysed for chemical (fat and salt content, proteolysis index, water activity) and texture traits and fatty acid composition, and evaluated for some sensorial attributes through a consumer test. The effects of diets, GG and their interaction were included in the model of statistical analysis. Pigs fed LP diets provided hams with lower protein content (P < 0.01), whereas a greater fat content was found only in the low lean growth potential GG. Conversely, texture traits and fatty acid composition were unaffected by diet. Hams from high lean growth potential GG showed greater losses at processing and deboning, an only nominal greater salt content, greater protein content and a greater proportion of total polyunsaturated fatty acids (+20%, P < 0.001) and \u3c96 (+9.2%, P < 0.001) than the other GG. In conclusion, lowering the dietary CP has only minimal effects on dry-cured ham quality. Due to its positive effects on sustainability of dry-cured ham chain by decreasing pig farm nitrogen excretion and feeding costs, lowering the dietary CP content with respect to the current values seems an advisable strategy for the feeding of traditional PDO heavy pigs. Genetic groups of different lean growth potential exerted only minor effects of dry-cured ham quality

Influence of dietary protein content on the chemico-physical profile of dry-cured hams produced by pigs of two breeds

The use of low-protein (LP) feeds is a good strategy to reduce the environmental release of N compounds, but their influence on the quality of the products must be considered. This study explored the influence of LP diet and two pig breeds (BR) with different lean growth ability on the quality traits of dry-cured hams. We analysed 40 left dry-cured hams from pigs of two BR [Duroc-Danbred crosses (Danbred) and Duroc 7 Large White crosses (Anas)] fed either conventional (147 to 132 g/ kg, crude protein) or LP diet. The LP had a crude protein content reduced by 20% with respect to the conventional. The differences in ham quality resulting from protein reduction were small, with a decrease of the protein and an increase of the lipid content of the ham slice in Anas, but not in Danbred (BR 7 Diet interaction; P = 0.043). Therefore, the use of LP would be feasible and sustainable, without detrimental effects on products. It was found the pig genotypes with different potentials for lean growth may affect the initial ham weight, fat cover and seasoning losses of hams, but they appear to affect little other chemical, physical and textural quality traits of the dry-cured hams

The implications of changing age and weight at slaughter of heavy pigs on carcass and green ham quality traits

Italian dry-cured ham production requires pigs to be slaughtered at 160 \ub1 16 kg at 9 months of age (control, C). The study explored three alternatives, based on different feeding conditions: (1) allowing pigs to express their growth potential by letting them reach 160 \ub1 16 kg slaughter weight (SW) at younger slaughter age (SA) (younger Age, YA); (2) allowing pigs to express their growth potential by maximizing their SW at 9 months SA (greater weight, GW); (3) increasing the SA required to reach 160 \ub1 16 kg SW (older age, OA). Pigs (336 C21 Goland, 95 kg initial body weight) were slaughtered on average at 257, 230, 257, and 273 d SA and 172.7, 172.3, 192.9, and 169.3 SW kg for the four treatments, respectively. C pigs had an average daily gain (ADG) of 715 g/d and feed efficiency (FE) of 0.265 (gain to feed). Compared to C, YA pigs had higher ADG (+32%), FE (+7.5%), and better ham adiposity; GW pigs had higher carcass weight (+12%), ADG (+25%), trimmed ham weight (+10.9%), and better ham adiposity. OA treatment affected ADG ( 1216.4%), FE ( 1216.6%), and trimmed ham weight ( 123.6%). YA and GW could be promising alternatives to C as they improved FE and ham quality traits