Philippine E-Journals

ESTIMATING LIVEWEIGHT OF PHILIPPINE NATIVE PIGS USING EXTERNAL BODY MEASUREMENTS

 

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to develop prediction equations to estimate liveweight of Philippine native pigs with the use of external body measurements such as heart girth, midriff girth, flank girth, and body length. A total of 54 Philippine native pigs (13 males and 41 females) weighing between 20 to 50 kg were used in the study. Body length (BL), heart girth (HG), midriff girth (MG) and flank girth (FG) of each individual pig were measured using a tape measure, then the actual BW was determined using a weighing scale. Correlation analysis was performed to determine the degree of linear relationships between liveweight and external body measurements. Simple and stepwise multiple regression analyses were used to develop the optimal prediction models. Body weight was positively correlated (P<0.01) with HG (r=0.94), FG (r=0.91), MG (r=0.88) and BL (r=0.76). Heart girth was the best predictor of liveweight of Philippine native pigs, which explained 88% of the total variability. Including body length as a predictor increased the R2 of the regression model to 92% (P<0.05). In conclusion, live weight of Philippine native pigs between 20 to 50 kg may be predicted using the following prediction equation: BW, kg = -46.32 + 0.83 × Heart girth, cm + 0.27 × Body length, cm.