The effect of transport density and gender on stress indicators and carcass and meat quality in pigs

A total of 168 finishing pigs were used to investigate the effects of gender (barrows and gilts) and transport densities for slaughter (236, 251, and 275 kg/m²) on stress indicators and carcass and pork quality. The animals transported at 251 kg/m² (T251) presented cortisol values below those at 236 kg/m2 (T236), but no different from those at 275 kg/m2 (T275). The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) values in pigs transported at T236 were the lowest. The blood components did not differ between T236 and T275. The pH values at 45 min (pH45) and at 24 h (pH24) postmortem were higher for pigs subjected to T236. However, the pH45 was higher at T251 than at T275, but pH24 was lower at T251 than at T275. The lightness values in the muscles of the pigs transported at T236 and T251 were higher than those at T275. Lower drip loss values were observed in the muscle of animals at T251. Carcasses of pigs at T236 contained more 1–5 cm lesions while those at T275 contained more 5–10 cmlesions in sections of loin. No significant effects of gender were found on the stress indicators, blood components, pH45, pH24, color, drip loss or carcass lesions in general. These results indicate that the pre-slaughter transport of pigs at densities of 251 kg/m² generates less physiological damage and smaller losses on carcass and pork quality irrespective of gender

Performance and serum parameters of growing pigs fed semi-purified glycerin

Background: the use of semi-purified glycerin in pig diets has been studied as an alternative energy source. Objective: to evaluate growth performance and serum levels of glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, and urea in pigs fed diets containing semi-purified glycerin during the growth phase. Methods: forty barrows with an initial weight of 27.30 ± 1.74 Kg, distributed in a randomized complete block design with four treatments and five replicates were used. The dietary treatments were a combination of corn and soybean meal diets with the addition of 0, 5, 10 or 15% semi-purified glycerin. The experimental period lasted 27 days and was divided into two periods. Results: during Period 1, pig performance did not differ with the inclusion of semi-purified glycerin in the diet. In Period 2, an improvement in average daily weight gain was observed. In the total period, an improvement was observed in the average daily weight gain, feed/gain ratio and final weight of the animals. However, serum parameters were not affected by the inclusion of semi-purified glycerin in the diets. Conclusion: the addition of up to 15% semi-purified glycerin to the diet of growing pigs improves growth performance without affecting serum parameters