Comparison of production performance of immunologically castrated and surgically castrated pigs

Date

4-2013

Degree

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

College

College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Romeo E. Sanchez Jr.

Restrictions

Restricted: Not available to the general public. Access is available only after consultation with author/thesis adviser and only to those bound by the confidentiality agreement.

Abstract

This study was performed to compare, under actual field conditions, the production performance of immunologically castrated pigs(ICP) and surgically castrated pigs (SCP). In a commercial farrow-tofinish pig farm, a total of 138 male pigs were randomly allocated into 2 groups: ICP and SCP. Pigs in the SCP group were castrated at one week of age while those in the ICP group were vaccinated at 13 and 17 weeks of age. Pigs were marketed at 21 weeks of age. The pigs were weighed at birth, 4, 10, 13, 17, and 21 weeks of age and average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were calculated. No significant differences in the mean body weight, ADG, FCE and ADFI between the 2 groups during the different time points in the grower-finisher stage were recorded (P>0.05). Further field studies in commercial farms are recommended in order to fully examine the efficacy of the vaccine under local settings. Future studies should take into consideration the timing of vaccination, interval between vaccinations, interval between the second vaccine dose and market, and disease challenge at the grower-finisher stage in the farm.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

Thesis

Document Type

Thesis

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS