COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE INDIGENOUS AND EXOTIC SOWS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

THE indigenous sow of Nigeria which is about half the size of the exotic large white, Landrace or crossbred pigs at maturity (60 vs 128-141kg) has an average milk yield of 75kg as compared to 130 148kg of the exotic breeds during an eight week lactation. Peak production was reached between the third and fifth weeks of lactation by the impor ted, while the native sow showed quite a slight peak but with greater persistency. For all geno types compared, milk yield was lower in the dry season (P< 0.05) than in the wet season (123 vs 134kg) and higher for sows (P < 0.05) than for gilts (135 vs 121kg). With an average litter size of 5-8 pigs, available milk per piglet was between 16kg in the Indigenous SOW and 28kg in the Landrace soWS (P < 0.05) and a significant difference (P < 0.05) in effi ciency of milk utilization by the piglets in the range of Crossbred, followed by the purebreds, the indigenous being the least efficient in relation to unit metabolic size Milk production did not differ among the genotypes. The high positive correlations (P < 0.05) between milk yield and body weight at farrow and the unit metablie size as well as between milk intake and litter size might serve as a useful tool in selection for the Nigerian Indigenous pigs as the higher body weight tend to be correlated to a higher milk yield and a correspondingly large litter size.