ISSN 2756-326X
Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2756-326X Vol. 10 (1), pp. 001-010, January, 2024. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Estimates of Milk Production and Correlation with Linear Body Measurements of Piglets from Nigerian Indigenous Pigs (Nip), Exotic and the Crossbred Sows
Oluwole O. O., Tiamiyu A.K., Olorungbohunmi T.O., Adesehinwa A.O.K.
Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University, Moor plantation, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Accepted 20 July, 2023
Abstract
A study was conducted to estimate milk production and its correlation with body linear measurement of NIP, exotic and the crossbred pigs. Once in a week piglets were separated from their mothers for 1hr and weighed before and after being allowed to suckle its dam to satiety. This was done four times in a day per week. Suckling periods did not exceed 30 minutes. Differences between pre- and post-suckling weights were recorded as estimated milk production of the dam. The results revealed that the parental genotype significantly (p<0.05) affected the milk yield. The interaction between genotype and age significantly affected the growth performance of the litters as well as milk yield of their dams. For the first week to third week where the milk yield of sow normally peak, NIP dam continuously outperform both exotic and crossbred dams in terms of milk yield. In contrast litters of NIP dams which have access to milk, however, grow less than litter of both exotic and crossbred dams. At the weaning age of seven weeks, mean weight of crossbred pig was the highest with value of 7.69kg, followed by 6.55kg of exotic and lastly 5.66kg for NIP. There was high correlation between the week of lactation and milk yield with the highest value of 0.95.
Keywords: Milk Production, Piglets, pigs (Nip).