Abstract
Abstract Data of 2257 centrally tested boars from 428 sires were used to evaluate genetic parameters of leg weakness in subtropical Taiwan. Leg weakness was observed and scored from 0 (normal) to 5 (worst) according to its conformation and performance. Variance components of sire and dam were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood method. The average leg weakness score in Landrace pigs was 2.33, significantly higher than Duroc (average score = 2.13) or Yorkshire (average score = 2.06). The phenotypic correlations between leg weakness and economic traits were smaller than 0.2 except for age at 110 kg body weight ( r = 0.52). The genetic correlations of economic traits with leg weakness estimated from sire components were average daily gain −0.39, feed efficiency 0.03, number of liveborn littermates of an individual −0.14, and number of teats −0.13. The heritability estimates of leg weakness from sire variance components for Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire were 0.23 ± 0.15, 0.30 ± 0.14, and 0.39 ±0.19, respectively. The litter common environmental variances for the three breeds were 0.27, 0.22, and −0.02. The results suggest that the leg weakness problem could be improved by selection, and genetic improvement for leg soundness based on sire data might also improve growth performance in subtropical areas.
Published Version
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