Abstract
Abstract The effect on the levels of androstenone and skatole in the carcasses of entire male pigs raised in stable social groups was studied in three herds with a total of 1353 entire male pigs. Raising pigs in a farrow-to-finish (FTF) system was compared to mixing of pigs from different litters. In the FTF group, the pigs were kept in the same litter from birth to slaughter, while in the Mixed group pigs were regrouped at a live weight of 25 kg in such a way that each pen were composed of pigs from three litters. The levels of androstenone and skatole in fat were measured at slaughter. When adjusted for other relevant factors as herd, breed, season and carcass weight, the average levels of androstenone in the two groups were 0.82 and 1.00 μg/g, respectively. For skatole, the difference between the two groups was not significant. Fifty-three percentage of the pigs in the Mixed-group had androstenone levels above 1.0 μg/g. Corresponding percentage in the FTF-group was 45. The use of FTF system in the production of entire male pigs thus seems to reduce the levels of androstenone in fat.
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