OBSSERVATIIONS O GROWTH, BODY DIMENSIONS AND CARCASS TRAITS OF NIGERIA INDIGENOUS PIGS

Abstract

Observations were made on 79 Nigerian indigenous (NI) and 24 Large White pigs.There was. a^, three-month delay^, in growth acceleration in NI pigs as compared with LW pigs. Growth acceleration started at 7 and 4 months for NI and LW respectively. Over all ages studied, NI differed markedly from LW in live weight, body length, height, depth and ham dimen­sions but this difference was much less between males than between females_ In NI ;boars serially slaughtered, live and carcass weights doubled between 7 and 10 months of age while dressing percent and carcass length reached peak values at 10 months. Carcass backfat measurements were higher and more consistent at the shoulder than at the loin or rump. Com­bined longitudinal and dissection studies are needed to elucidate the growth curve, the true genetic potential for growth and the body fat deposition pattern in the NI pigs.