Growth and development in the pig, with special reference to carcass quality characters: III. Effect of the plane of nutrition on the form and composition of the bacon pig

Abstract

It is impracticable to give a detailed summary of the many findings of.this experiment; attention is confined, therefore, to the major aspects and the general principles emerging.1. By quantitative control of the plane of nutrition, twenty closely inbred pigs have been made to conform to four major variations in the shape of the growth curve from birth to 200 lb. live weight. A high rate throughout (High-High), a high followed by a low rate (High-Low), a low followed by a high rate (Low-High) and a low rate throughout the period (Low-Low) afforded comparison between animals of the same weight but different age and between animals of the same weight and age but with differently shaped growth curves. The relative effects of the treatments upon the development of body proportions and anatomical composition have been studied.