Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T11:56:30.318Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Simultaneous estimation of daily weight and feed intake curves for growing pigs by random regression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2011

M. Wetten*
Affiliation:
Norsvin, PO Box 504, NO-2304 Hamar, Norway
J. Ødegård
Affiliation:
NOFIMA MARIN, PO Box 5010, NO-1432 Ås, Norway Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), PO Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway
O. Vangen
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), PO Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway
Th. H. E. Meuwissen
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), PO Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway
*
Get access

Abstract

In this study, random regression models were used to estimate covariance functions between feed intake and BW in boars from the two breeds: the Norwegian Landrace and the Norwegian Duroc. In total, 1476 animals of the Norwegian Landrace breed and 1300 animals of the Norwegian Duroc breed had registrations on daily feed intake and growth from 54 to 180 days of age. Random regressions on the Legendre polynomials of age were used to describe genetic and permanent environmental curves in BW (up to the second order) and feed intake (up to the first order) for both the breeds. Heritabilities on BW increased over time for the Landrace (0.18 to 0.24), but were approximately constant for the Duroc (0.33 to 0.35). Average heritabilities for feed intake were approximately the same in both the breeds (0.09 to 0.11), and the estimates decreased over time, most pronounced in Duroc. On the basis of the current data, daily feed intake was seemingly controlled by the same genetic factors throughout the test period for Duroc; however, for Landrace, genetic correlations between test days decreased with increasing distance in time. For BW, the genetic correlations between test days were in general high, and did not go below 0.8 for any of the two breeds in this study. For both feed intake and BW, permanent environmental correlations between start and end of the test were reduced with increasing difference in days, most pronounced in Duroc. This study indicates that weight of the animal at the end of the test was more closely genetically correlated to feed intake of earlier periods compared with later periods of growth for both the breeds. This may be explained by the fact that BW is the cumulative growth of an individual, which is likely to be heavily affected by the feed intake during the most intense growth period.

Type
Full Paper
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Gilmour, AR, Gogel, BJ, Cullis, BR, Thompson, R 2006. ASReml user guide release 2.0. VSN International Ltd, Hemel Hempstead HP1 1ES, UK ISBN 1-904375-23-5.Google Scholar
Gjerlaug-Enger, E, Kongsro, J, Ødegård, J, Aass, L, Vangen, O 2011. Genetic parameters between slaughter pig efficiency and growth rate of different body tissues estimated by computed tomography in live boars of Landrace and Duroc. Animal, doi:10.1017/S1751731111001455.Google Scholar
Haraldsen, M, Odegard, J, Olsen, D, Vangen, O, Ranberg, IMA, Meuwissen, THE 2009. Prediction of genetic growth curves in pigs. Animal 3, 475481.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huisman, AE, Veerkamp, RF, Van Arendonk, JAM 2002. Genetic parameters for various random regression models to describe the weight data of pigs. Journal of Animal Science 80, 575582.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lorenzo Bermejo, J, Roehe, R, Schulze, V, Rave, G, Looft, H, Kalm, E 2003. Random regression to model genetically the longitudinal data of daily feed intake in growing pigs. Livestock Production Science 82, 189199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mrode, RA, Kennedy, BW 1993. Genetic variation in measures of food efficiency in pigs and their genetic relationships with growth rate and backfat. Animal Production 56, 225232.Google Scholar
Øverland, M 1997. New restricted feeding scales for growing-finishing pigs and sows in Norway. In Energy and protein evaluation for pigs in the Nordic countries (ed. H Jørgensen and JA Fernández), Proc. NJF-seminar No. 274, pp. 8692. Research Centre Foulum, Denmark.Google Scholar
Schnyder, U, Hofer, A, Labroue, F, Kunzi, N 2001. Genetic parameters of a random regression model for daily feed intake of performance tested French Landrace and Large White growing pigs. Genetics Selection Evolution 33, 635658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schulze, V, Roehe, R, Lorenzo Bermejo, J, Looft, H, Kalm, E 2002. Genetic associations between observed feed intake measurements during growth, feed intake curve parameters and growing-finishing performances of central tested boars. Livestock Production Science 73, 199211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veerkamp, RF, Thompson, R 1999. A covariance function for feed intake, live weight, and milk yield estimated using a random regression model. Journal of Dairy Science 82, 15651573.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed