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Growth Rate of Purebred Berkshire Pigs Housed in Hoop Buildings in North Carolina
This study was designed to estimate growth curves of antibiotic free Berkshire purebred breeding stock reared in hoop buildings at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm. The location features a humid subtropical climate with subtropical summer temperatures and mild winters, and an average annual precipitation of approximately 110 cm. Litters were weaned at 4 weeks old, and reared within deep-bedded outdoor hoop houses. Six boars and 21 sows were included in the population. Body weights of a total 124 pigs were collected every 4 weeks from birth to 20 weeks of age, resulting in 1206 total records. Gompertz growth curves were used to estimate parameters, resulting in 3.681 ± 0.369 as W0, 0.029 ± 0.002 as m, and 0.006 ± 0.001 as D. Overall average daily gain at 20 weeks of age was 0.39 ± 0.11 kg and ranged from 0.16 to 0.64 kg. Average daily gains were 0.38 ± 0.11 kg in boars and 0.40 ± 0.12 kg in gilts. These results were lower than the results reported by others, which may be due to different climates in the test populations and/or due to the closed population used in the present study.
Keywords: Berkshire, Growth Rate, Hoop, Outdoor