Organic rearing of non-castrated male pigs: welfare indicators, carcass traits, pork quality and boar taint in Duroc and Pietrain crossbreds

• Published in: Animal (Cambridge, England) England), 2024-10, Vol.18 (10), p.101316, Article 101316
• Main Authors: Lebret, B., Ferchaud, S., Poissonnet, A., Prunier, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Androstenone; backfat; boar taint; crossbreds; Duroc; ecology; genotype; glycolysis; Growth performance; ham; hay; humans; intramuscular fat; Large White; lean meat; Life Sciences; Livestock farming system; longissimus muscle; males; Meat composition; meat tenderness; nose; organic foods; Pietrain; Pig genotype; pork quality; risk; semimembranosus muscle; skatole; slaughter; straw; tail
• ISSN: 1751-7311; 1751-732X; 1751-732X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2024.101316

•Male pigs in organic farming can show few health and welfare problems.•Fewer Duroc than Piétrain crossbred males have skin scratches or tail lesions.•Duroc and Piétrain crossbred males have similar growth rate and slaughter weight.•Duroc have less lean carcasses but more intramuscular fat than Piétrain crossbreds.•Meat quality but also boar taint risk are higher in Duroc than in Piétrain crossbreds. The main principles of organic farming as presented by the European organisation for organic food and farming are health, ecology, fairness and care, but the intrinsic quality of products is also important for consumers. Pig genotype was tested as a lever to improve animal welfare and pork quality (meat tenderness, processing ability) of organic, non-castrated males while controlling the risk for boar taint. Non-castrated Large White × Duroc (D, n = 47) or Large White × Pietrain NN (P, n = 34) males were involved in two batches, each including one group of pigs per genotype. Each group was reared in a pen from the same building on deep straw bedding (1.3 m2/pig), with a feeding zone (0.2 m2/pig) and an outdoor area (1.0 m2/pig), from 28 kg BW until slaughter at ca. 125 kg BW. All pigs received ad libitum the same growing and finishing diets, and hay. Overall, health and welfare indicators showed few problems, but the proportions of pigs with skin scratches, and tail lesions at the end of the finishing period, were lower in D than in P pigs (P