ABSTRACT
The Angler Saddleback pig is an endangered local breed originating from Germany. The breed is said to have low demands in terms of husbandry and feeding, and an excellent meat quality. To date, there is a lack of more recent scientific investigations of the breed. Therefore, 58 Angler Saddleback pigs were fattened in two consecutive trials whereby performance, carcass quality and meat quality were assessed. At an average age of 324 days, the pigs reached an average final live weight of 143 kg, an intramuscular fat (IMF) content of 2.6%, a lean meat percentage of 47% and a backfat thickness of 38 mm. A significant influence of the independent variables "breeder" and "age at the end of fattening" on the majority of target variables was found. Furthermore, IMF as well as pH value 45 minutes post mortem was significantly influenced by sex. These results give a current overview of the phenotypic characteristics of this endangered breed. It is shown that the slower growing Angler Saddleback breed may need alternative marketing concepts for its meat and meat products. Additionally, further research is necessary to clarify the reasons for the high phenotypic variation within this breed.
Subject(s)
Endangered Species , Meat , Animals , Germany , Male , Female , Swine , Breeding , Body Composition , Body WeightABSTRACT
Globally, many local farm animal breeds are threatened with extinction. However, these breeds contribute to the high amount of genetic diversity required to combat unforeseen future challenges of livestock production systems. To assess genetic diversity, various genotyping techniques have been developed. Based on the respective genomic information, different parameters, e.g., heterozygosity, allele frequencies and inbreeding coefficient, can be measured in order to reveal genetic diversity between and within breeds. The aim of the present work was to shed light on the use of genotyping techniques in the field of local farm animal breeds. Therefore, a total of 133 studies across the world that examined genetic diversity in local cattle, sheep, goat, chicken and pig breeds were reviewed. The results show that diversity of cattle was most often investigated with microsatellite use as the main technique. Furthermore, a large variety of diversity parameters that were calculated with different programs were identified. For 15% of the included studies, the used genotypes are publicly available, and, in 6%, phenotypes were recorded. In conclusion, the present results provide a comprehensive overview of the application of genotyping techniques in the field of local breeds. This can provide helpful insights to advance the conservation of breeds.
ABSTRACT
Intensive turkey production with fast growing strains is often critically discussed regarding animal welfare problems. Studies evaluating the welfare status of both organic and less intensive selected turkey strains are limited, except in the slightly slower growing Kelly Broad Breast Bronze (Kelly). The aim of this study was to assess the welfare of turkeys from two strains with further decreased growth rate, Hockenhull Large Bronze (HoBr) and Hockenhull Black (HoBl), in comparison to Kelly under commercial organic conditions with 100% organic feed. Altogether 844 non-beak-trimmed male turkeys (274-288 per line) were reared and fattened in three replications with each six groups. On group level, use of resources in the 7, 16, and 25th week of life, mortality and feed conversion were recorded. Each bird was assessed with regard to plumage and skin condition as indicators of agonistic interactions, cannibalism and feather pecking, with regard to leg health, footpad, breast skin condition and, as performance indicators, live and carcass weight, utilization, daily weight gain and weights of valuable meat parts. The significantly slower growing HoBl showed slightly fewer malposition of the legs, reduced injury rates and less breast buttons, but a higher susceptibility to footpad dermatitis than Kelly turkeys. HoBr with a similar growth rate compared to Kelly had slightly more problems concerning walking ability and plumage damage, but also less breast buttons than Kelly turkeys. However, effect sizes were negligible (Φ < 0.10), except for the higher occurrence of footpad dermatitis and the reduced number of breast buttons in HoBl with small effect sizes (Φ = 0.20-0.24). Use of resources, prevalence of breast blisters and mortality, were not statistically different, although mortality rate was numerically lower in HoBl. Thus, for none of the studied strains clear benefits or disadvantages in terms of the birds' predisposition for welfare problems could be identified. Overall, prevalences of animal welfare problems were mostly lower than in comparable studies while performances were comparatively high. Therefore, turkeys from the studied strains appear to be suitable for organic rearing and fattening with 100% organic feed, given a good management.
