Botelho-Fontela Sofia, Paixão Gustavo, Pereira-Pinto Ricardo, Vaz-Velho Manuela, Pires Maria Dos Anjos, Payan-Carreira Rita, Patarata Luís, Lorenzo José, Silva António, Esteves Alexandra
Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), AL4Animals, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
CISAS-Center for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal.
Vet Sci. 2023 Oct 2;10(10):600. doi: 10.3390/vetsci10100600.
The Bísaro pig is a Portuguese autochthonous breed greatly appreciated for its meat quality and is mainly reared outdoors. Immunocastration could be a solution to avoid undesirable pregnancies and boar taint in cull sows. The present study tested three immunocastration protocols (with Improvac) according to their reproductive cycle. The first inoculation was performed two weeks after farrowing (IM1, n = 5), at the beginning of estrus (IM2, n = 5), and one week after the end of estrus (IM3, n = 5), followed by a second administration four weeks apart. A control group (C, n = 5) was also included in the same housing conditions. The sample collection included the reproductive tract for morphometric evaluation, neck fat for the quantification of boar taint compounds, and a portion of the Longissimus thoracis et lumborum for meat quality trait assessment. The reproductive tracts from intact sows (C) were significantly heavier compared to the immunocastrated groups ( < 0.05) (1.403 kg C to 0.508 kg IM1, 0.590 kg IM2, and 0.599 kg IM3), suggesting the regression of the reproductive tract to nonstimulated conditions due to immunization against GnRH. The IM1 group exhibited significantly smaller reproductive tract measurements compared to group C for most of the evaluated segments ( < 0.05). No marked differences were observed in the meat quality traits. Therefore, immunocastration can be used in culling sows to avoid ovarian activity, and it is not detrimental to pork quality traits.
比萨罗猪是一种葡萄牙本土品种，因其肉质优良而备受青睐，主要在户外饲养。免疫去势可能是避免淘汰母猪意外怀孕和公猪膻味的一种解决方案。本研究根据其繁殖周期测试了三种免疫去势方案（使用英普罗瓦克）。第一次接种在分娩后两周（IM1，n = 5）、发情开始时（IM2，n = 5）和发情结束后一周（IM3，n = 5）进行，四周后进行第二次接种。同一饲养条件下还包括一个对照组（C，n = 5）。样本采集包括用于形态学评估的生殖道、用于定量公猪膻味化合物的颈部脂肪，以及用于肉质性状评估的一部分胸腰最长肌。与免疫去势组相比，未去势母猪（C）的生殖道明显更重（<0.05）（C组为1.403千克，IM1组为0.508千克，IM2组为0.590千克，IM3组为0.599千克），这表明由于针对促性腺激素释放激素的免疫，生殖道向非刺激状态退化。在大多数评估节段中，IM1组的生殖道测量值与C组相比显著更小（<0.05）。肉质性状方面未观察到明显差异。因此，免疫去势可用于淘汰母猪以避免卵巢活动，且对猪肉品质性状无害。
