Improving the meat productivity of Livenskaya breed of pigs under the conditions of peasant farms

Improving the productive qualities and increasing the competitiveness of rare pig breeds of the Soviet Union using the genofond of the best world breeds, capable to ensure their qualitative improvement, is a relevant task for the pig breeding of our country. The purpose of our research was to study the possibilities of improving the fattening and meat productivity of Livenskaya breed by crossing sows with boars of the highly productive bacon breed Pietrain. The scientific research was carried out in the peasant farm of the Orel region. It has been established that short duration (100 kg age) in the hybrids pigs was 176 days, which was 16 days, or 8.3% less than in the purebred Livenskaya breed. The average live weight at the end of fattening was statistically significantly higher in the "half-bred" pigs by 13.1 kg (13.3%). The daily live weight gain of experimental group youngsters was bigger than in the pigs of the control group during the weaning period by 124,8 g 29,9%), and during the fattening period - by 206,8 g (30,6%). Crossbred youngsters also showed better results in finish weight, hot carcass weight and slaughter yield than purebred ones. The area of the ‘loin eye' (cross-sectional area of longest back muscle) was significantly larger of the young hogs of the experimental group by 13.5 cm2 (32.2%). The back fat thickness over the 6-7 thoratic vertebrae (at point P1) at the half-bred young hogs was 4.5 mm lower (18.3%). The thickness of adipose tissue at point P2 (above 10-11 rib), was also expected to be less than the crossbred young hogs of the experimental group - 16.6 mm contrary 21.4 mm in the Livenskaya pigs. The half-bred hog pigs went ahead on the meat yield in the carcasses of purebred. Hybrid hog pigs (Livenskaya x Pietrain) by the carcass trait and meat yield after deboning corresponded on average to the first class in Russian and class "E" according to the European assessment system of carcass evaluation. The carcass traits of Livenskaya breed hogs were of lower quality of lean tissue.