Effect of immunocastration on growth performance, gonadal development and carcass and meat quality of SuHuai female pigs

The present study was aimed to compare growth performance, gonadal development, carcass characteristic and meat quality among SuHuai entire, immunocastrated and surgically castrated female pigs. Eighty 12-week-old SuHuai gilts were randomly assigned to the following four treatment groups with four pigs per pen and five replicate pens per treatment: control (PBS injection), two-dose Improvac regimen (V2), three-dose Improvac regimen (V3) and surgical castration (S). All pigs had ad libitum access to standard diets and water. The performance and occurrence of oestrus were recorded in the trial. Backfat thickness and loin eye muscle area were recorded ultrasonically. The pigs were slaughtered to measure the weight and size of the uterus, and the weight and activity of the ovaries, to determine the serum concentrations of progesterone, and to evaluate the quality of carcass and meat. There were no significant differences in growth performance among the four groups, except for the V2, which had a better average daily feed intake (P < 0.05). Carcass and meat quality were comparable among the four groups; however, the intramuscular fat in control was higher than the V2 and V3 (P < 0.01). Mean ovary and uterus weights and oestrus of female pigs in V2 and V3 were significantly (P < 0.01) lower than in control, but the difference between the V2 and V3 was not significant. The concentration of progesterone in the control was significantly higher than that in the V2, V3 and S (P < 0.05). These results indicated that immunocastration successfully suppressed gonadal development and had no adverse effects on growth performance, or carcass or meat-quality traits in Chinese SuHuai female pigs.