The Ribatejano pig: a cross based on a fatty pig

The Ribatejano (RI) pig productive performance, resulting from a cross between Alentejano (AL) and Bísaro (BI) breeds, was assessed within the framework of the TREASURE* project. Nine castrated male pigs from each genotype (AL, BI, ALxBI and BIxAL) were studied. Animals were raised in traditional free-range system, individually fed with commercial diets ad libitum, and slaughtered at ~150 kg live weight (LW). No significant (P>0.05) differences were observed between genotypes on the average daily gain. Overall, carcass length, and head and bone cuts percentages (P<0.001) were higher in BI than AL pigs, with intermediate values for both crosses. Carcass yield (P<0.01) was lower in BI and BIxAL, while commercial yield percentage (P<0.05) was lower in AL and ALxBI genotypes. Conversely, fat cuts percentage, average backfat thickness and ZP fat depth (P<0.001) were higher in AL than in BI, ALxBI and BIxAL pigs. At ~150 kg LW, RI crosses presented generally intermediate characteristics between the fatter (AL) and leaner (BI) genotypes. These trends were already observed in a previous work where these genotypes were slaughtered at ~65 kg LW (Martins et al. 2017). Therefore, this cross can be an alternative to the use of other breeds for crossing, and increase the income of local pig producers in a sustainable way, mitigate the exodus of rural population, and also preserve the pure breed pig populations, contributing to animal biodiversity. Martins J.M., Neves J., Serrano A., Abecasis I., Albuquerque A., Freitas A., Nunes J.T. & Charneca R. (2017) The Ribatejano pig: Rebirth of a local population? First results on growth, and carcass parameters. Archivos de Zootecnia in press. *This work has been made in the scope of Treasure project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 634476 (Project acronym: TREASURE). The content of this paper reflects only the author’s view and the European Union Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.