COLLEGE RED PIGS

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24869, 8 May 1946, Page 9

COLLEGE RED PIGS

BREEDERS’ DIFFICULTIES DESCRIBED Some of the difficulties which face the breeder seeking to improve farm animals are described in entertaining fashion by Mr P. G. Stevens, lecturer in animal husbandry at Lincoln College, in the latest Rural Education Bulletin put out by the college. Mr Stevens describes the background of the Large White-Tamworth cross, designed to add the hardiness of the Tam worth to the bacon qualities of the Large White, and now. appropriately called Lincoln Reds. • The cross was founded with a Large White boar imported from Cambridge, which was mated with two sows selected from the College Tamworth herd.

“The first cross pigs were all white —but not. quite white,, as. numbers o£ them showed some signs of tan if examined very carefully,” says Mr Stevens. “There might be a few tan hairs in the eyebrows or maybe a shading of tan over the head of along the back, or sometimes just a tan sheen when looked at in the fight tight Of these first pigs one boar and several sows were selected and mated to produce the second generation. Our Expectation was that about one-quar-ter of each litter would be tan pigs and three-quarters white or apparently white. This was realised, and in an average litter of eight pigs two Would be tan. But at this stage a previously unimportant characteristic became of prime importance. We had known that both breeds carried a spotting factor which expressed itself as black spots on various parts of the body, but we did not anticipate that in our second generation pigs this factor would break its previous bounds and give us black pigs, some black and white pigs, and some tan. (It was only lack, of accommodation which prevented us from evolving an allblack strain from our red-white foundation.) Not Enough Boars “However, we did get some all-red sows, but not enough to carry on with —boars, yes, plenty of them—but we wanted only one or two boars and plenty of sows. So it became necessary to select some of the second generation white sows and gamble on their carrying the tan factor. One, known in her youth as Miss Gamble, is noteworthy, because of her first litter of 10 pigs five were white aqd five were tan. From this and her later litters came some of the most promising breeding pigs we have to-day. Red colour is no longer a problem; we have plenty of red pigs in all shades from light creamy tan to dark red. I may have stressed the colour problem too much* Its inheritance is relatively simple, and within limits we knew what to expect, but we had to get red pigs before we could proceed further.

“While we were working on the colour problem the carcase quality aspect was not being neglected. Al! pigs not retained for breeding pur T poses were slaughtered at bacon weights and the carcase measured for carcase quality. It was by this means that we discovered that a handsome red son of Miss Gamble was leaving progeny of outstanding carcase quality. He was - immediately promoted to pride of place as senior sire, a position he still holds. Meanwhile several of his sons are under test. Their progeny are being measured on the hooks for carcase quality to determine which will be the senior sire Of the next generation. Fresh Inheritance

“All the pigs bred so far are descended from the original boar and two sows. Prolificacy, growth rate, and general thrift have remained uniformly good. There is still plenty of variation within the strain, so that selection is possible for many generations yet. At present, with tne cooperation of some interested pigkeepers, we are aiming at multiplication of the stock we already have to obtain greater numbers of carcase quality measurements. It is intended, however, to add fresh inheritance, and recently an unrelated strain of Large White has been added. Soon still another unrelated strain of Large White will be added. Both of these strains are of proved carcase quality. “We do not claim any originality in the method we have used. It is the classic method, used by breeders to add to their own breed a desirable factor possessed by some other breed. Likewise the use of the progeny test and the selection of the breeding animals on the basis of the measured carcase quality of their progeny was employed by Denmark a generation ago. (And let us remember Denmark captured the English bacon market.) It is being used to-day by Canada, and she has been the main source of pig meat for England during the war is a principle, this progeny test, which we must be prepared to apply to all our studs of purebred livestock if we are to increase the volume and improve the quality of our animal products. In this connexion it is well to remember that only 15 per cent, of our dairy cows are tested; we guess at the production of the remainder. It is well to remember that there is in operation a scheme which gives accu-

rate information on the carcase quality of our pigs, but little use is made of it. In the stud sheep world we still guess fleece weights and assess carcase quality by eye judgment. How long can we afford to continue to breed along these lines?”