Heritability estimates for carcase traits of pigs recorded under ad libitum and restricted feeding

Abstract

<p>In Australia, genetic improvement of efficient lean meet growth is based on <i>ad libitum</i> feeding in most breeding programs. Selection experiments have shown that restricted feeding might be the preferable feeding regime in order to select for efficient lean meat growth (Cameron and Curran, 1995; McPhee <i>et al.</i>, 1988). These selection experiments were conducted in research herds and may not reflect commercial conditions. Therefore, a project was initiated to estimate genetic parameters for economically important traits recorded under both feeding systems in a commercial herd. The aim of this study was to compare heritabilities and variance components for carcase traits recorded under both feeding regimes in a commercial herd.</p>