Browsing by Subject "Swine"
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Item Alternative and outdoor housing systems for pigs: effects on growth, meat quality, and muscle characteristics(Texas Tech University, 2001-12) Gentry, Jessica GailThe popularity of alternative and outdoor swine housing systems has increased in recent years. Research examining outdoor and alternative housing systems for finisher pigs has been limited. The objectives of this dissertation were to examine the effects of outdoor and alternative pig housing systems on growth, composition, and muscle characteristics. Housing systems that were evaluated included indoor slatted-floor buildings, indoor deep-bedded buildings, outdoor housing on dirt, and outdoor housing on alfalfa pasture. Birth and finishing conditions were evaluated over seasons using 96 pigs. At weaning, indoor-bom and outdoor-bom pigs were randomly allotted to indoor or outdoor pens for growing/finishing. Pigs were also finished on deep-bedding or concrete slats to evaluate performance and meat quality. An additional experiment examined the effects of indoor space allowances on pig performance, behavior and meat quality. Muscle fiber type characteristics (percentage of type I, IIA, and IIB fibers) were examined in two experiments to determine the effects of space allowance and exercise levels on muscle quality. Carcass measurements were recorded and boneless loins were collected from the left side of each carcass in the experiments. Loins were evaluated for color, drip loss, proximate analysis, sensory attributes, and shear force.Item Amino acid supplementation of grain sorghum for young pigs(Texas Tech University, 1971-08) McManigal, James GunterNot availableItem Behavioral, physiological and environmental factors in baby pig mortality(Texas Tech University, 1988-08) Morrow, Julie L.Mortality in neonatal pigs has been estimated to be near 20%. Many attempts have been made to reduce this economically important aspect of swine production. However, even with modern operations and high quality feeding regimes, the death rate of piglets within the first week of life has changed little in the last 20 years. An understanding of the behavior and biology of piglets and sows has not been utilized to reduce early mortality. Neonatal animals such as the piglet show rapidly changing physical, physiological and behavioral characteristics during the first few days of life. If these neonates are to survive, they must continually adapt to varying social and environmental conditions. Sensory systems have long been recognized as playing a mayor role in the neural processes involved in recognition by the piglet of mother and litermates. Chemical cues such as matenal feces, amniotic fluid and ventral skin substances have been demonstrated to be important sources in nipple attachment and early suckling behavior over the course of lactation in several species.Item Chill and trim effects on the microbial load of pork carcasses(Texas Tech University, 1995-12) Carr, Mandy AnnettIn a two-part study, composited ham, loin, belly and shoulder samples from 30 pork carcasses in a 2 X 2 X 3 factorial study (hot-fat trim - HFT or nonfat trim - NFT X normal chill - NC or freeze chill - FC X day) had similar aerobic plate counts, averaging 5.5 log-,o CFU/g. The NFTNC procedure typically used in the industry, however, produced higher coliform and Staphylococcus spp. counts (P < .05). The HFTFC treatment had the lowest lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts. Only one sample in 60 tested positive for Salmonella. Vacuum packaged hams and loins stored at 4°C for 14 d had similar ARC, LAB and Staphylococcus spp. counts regardless of trim, chill, or location treatment, averaging 5.7, 6.3 and 1.4 log^o CFU/g, respectively. Coliforms were higher (P < .05) on hams than loins on 2 of the 3 d sampled. The desire to reduce microbial loads on pork carcasses as a food safety issue and the coming implementation of HACCP warrants the use of trim and chill methods as critical control points or GMP/SOPs in the pork slaughter, processing and packaging industry.Item Economic feasibility of outdoor weaned pig farming in West Texas(Texas Tech University, 2002-05) Mutai, Ronald M.The cotton industiy in West Texas is well stmctured with a well-organized production input sector, giiming sector, cottonseed oil milling, shipping and warehousing sectors. The cotton industry includmg alhed industries is the backbone of the West Texas economy. Cotton farming is faced with problems in rising production costs (through use of expensive fertihzers), competition from foreign grown cotton, boll weevil infestation, and a rapidly dimmishing source of irrigation water. The West Texas region appears favorable for hog fanning since it has vast flat lands with few or no rivers, thus ensuring minimal non-point pollution problems (from manure and urine runoff). The area is sparsely populated which ensures that odor problems from swine manure will be minimum. Although pig fanning in the West Texas region appears to offer a profitable altemative to cotton farming, there are a number of potential disadvantages. Grain is very expensive here because West Texas is a deficit region (because of the large demand by cattle feedlots) and grain must be shipped in (thus incurring fransportation costs above the shipping region's price). Weaned pig farming, which is looked at in this study, will be an excellent altemative for West Texas since it does not require large amoimts of grain. Weaned pig farming requires less grain (than feeder pig or farrow-to-finish farms) since weaned pigs are sold off at an early age (15-21 days). Another disadvantage of pig fanning is that when sows are bred in West Texas, since there are no markets for them, they would have to be shipped to outside markets (e.g., the Midwest or California) for fiirther fattening or slaughter. Plans by Seaboard, Inc. to build a new pork packing plant between Dumas and Amarillo will certainly atfract finishing operations to the region, which will provide local demand for weaned pigs. It has to be noted though that for hog production to develop and grow in the West Texas region, the enterprise has to be economically viable. Hog fanning on the Texas High Plains has to be able to compete economically with hog farming in the Midwest and at the same time be able to be more lucrative than cotton farming in this region. That is, producers will have to be able to produce their pigs at an equal, or lower, cost than indoor farmers do in the Midwest and make a higher retum on investment than cotton fanners for outdoor pig fanning to become established in the region.Item Economics and feed value of integrating duckweed production with a swine operation(Texas Tech University, 1999-12) Moss, Marsha ElizabethThe large production of livestock on the Southern High Plains each year results in needs to handle manure and wastewater. The beef and swine Industries are incorporating manure waste management plans to ensure a stable environment. Aquatic plants have been used for many years as an integral part of wastewater treatment. One aquatic plant, duckweed, is providing high removal rates of nutrients and potential pollutants. Studies have reported crude protein in duckweed as high as 45%. The high crude protein values offer possibilities of incorporation into animal feeding operations. In the formulation of swine rations, protein or more specifically amino acids are critical to growth and performance. The aquatic plant duckweed has similar crude protein levels and contains essential amino acids like lysine, threonine, and tryptophan that needed in swine rations. Experiment 1 utilized sixty-four nursery pigs in a feeding trial to determine the effects of replacing soybean meal with duckweed as the crude protein supplement. The data from the 21-day growth trial indicated there was a significant increase (P<0.05) in average daily gains between the 40% and 60% replacement of soybean meal with duckweed treatments and the control treatment with no differences (P>0.10) in feed efficiency. Pigs fed duckweed treatments had a long-term effect on weight gain as indicated by higher (P<0.025) final slaughter weights.Item Effects of age and diet on digestive function in the young pig(Texas Tech University, 1982-05) Owsley, Walter FranklinEarly weaning of pigs has become a prominent part of today's swine production in order to maximize utilization of facilities and sows. Problems of nutrition and management of the early weaned pig, however, negates a portion of this benefit. Milk production peaks at 3 to 4 weeks of lactation; therefore, little dry feed is consumed by pigs prior to 4 weeks of age. Weaning at four weeks or younger forces the pig to consume solid food consisting primarily of grain and vegetable protein rather than milk. The change of diet, coupled with the stress of weaning and change of environment following weaning, has led to what is known as the post-weaning check period. This period of 7 to 10 days is characterized by low feed intake, little gain in weight and poor feed conversion. To complicate the problem, the pig's poor condition may increase the susceptability to low grade infections leading to scours and, in extreme cases, death. Any practice that overcomes this check period would improve the efficiency of producing pork. Since the acceptance of early weaning, new management techniques and housing have been developed to reduce the stress of weaning and improve the nursery environment. The check period, however, still exists, implicating nutrition as the major problem. Feed ingredients added to starter diets to increase feed intake or improve the quality of dietary protein have helped little. These observations suggest a problem with the young pig's ability to digest and utilize diets consisting mainly of grain and vegetable protein during the first 7 to 10 days post-weaning. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of age and diet on the development of digestive function in the young pig.Item Effects of amino acid supplementation of sorghum based diets for the growing pig(Texas Tech University, 1988-08) Sells, JoeSix experiments utilizing 284 pigs were conducted to determine the effects of amino acid supplementation of sorghum-soybean meal diets for growing pigs. Experiment 1 diets consisted of: (1) basal diet, 13.8% protein; (2) threonine balanced diet + .18% lysine; (3) threonine deficient diet + .30% lysine; and (4) as three + .07% threonine. Pigs fed diet 4 gained faster (P<.05) and were more efficient than pigs fed diet 3. The amino acid analysis in experiment 2 and 3 indicated isoleucine was second limiting. Test diets were as follows: (1) basal diets, 15.99% protein; (2) isoleucine balanced diet + .11% lysine; (3) isoleucine deficient diet + .166% lysine; and (4) as three + .05% isoleucine. Results of experiment 2 and 3 showed no differences in growth and feed efficiency for all diets except for the third experiment. During the last 14 days of this study, pigs fed diet 2 grew faster and were more efficient in their gain/feed ratio (P<.05). No differences resulted in PUN values in experiment 2. Test diets for experiment 4 consisted of: (1) basal diets, 13.36% protein; (2) threonine balanced diet + .18% lysine; (3) threonine deficient diet + .32% lysine; and (4) as three + .061% threonine. Pigs fed the basal diet grew faster (P<.05). Diets used in experiment 5 and 6 were: (1)basal sorghum diet, 9.18% protein + .25% lysine; (2) basal + .128% isoleucine and .25% lysine; (3) basal + .128% isoleucine with .25% lysine and .039% threonine; and (4) as three + .266% methionine. Experiment 5 revealed that pigs fed diet 3 grew faster (P<.05) and produced the lowest PUN values. Experiment 6, a metabolism study, again showed that diet 3 was superior to the other three treatments as these pigs retained the most nitrogen.Item Environmental enrichment influences on pig behavior, performance, and meat quality(Texas Tech University, 1997-05) Hill, Jeffery DarrellThe influence of five treatments varying in environmental enrichment level were evaluated for effects on performance, behavior and carcass characteristics in 320 pigs from weaning to slaughter. Eight rephcations were evaluated, four rephcations were PIC C15 X 405 cross widch is a commonly employed commercial hybrid in the US swine industry and four rephcations were of a PIC EXP-94 X 405 cross (one-eighth Meishan). The EXP-94 is an ejq)erimental line developed to determine the efficacy of introducing the Meishan breed into the US swine industry. Animals were randomly allotted at weaning (28 days) and were housed m groups of eight pigs per pen. Pigs remamed m the nursery four weeks, then were moved to the grower-finisher facility. The live animal evaluation was conq)leted when the rephcate average weight reached 113 kgs. The five environmental treatments were isolation (NEG), weekly normal handling (NOR), daily normal handling plus the addition of environmental enrichment devices (TOYS), daily normal handhng plus two minute pleasant handling bouts with humans five days per week (HUM), and daily normal handling with maximum environmental enrichment including environmental enrichment devices plus the two minute pleasant handling bouts with humans five days per week. Analysis of pig growth and performance included average daily gain, feed intake, feed:gain ratio and mortahty. Behavioral analysis was accon^lished through a 24 hour video analysis of home pen behavior (lying, feeding, drinking, hose interaction, and cham interaction) at 50 and 165 days of age. A two minute standardized human-interaction test was conducted immediately prior to the movmg of annuals from the nursery facility and immediately prior to the final weigh session. During the final weigh session animals were evaluated for movement and loading scores, and rated for evidence of deviant social behaviors including ear and tail biting.Item Feeding Grain Sorghums to Hogs as Applied to Teaching High School Vocational Agricultural Students(Texas Tech University, 1941-08) Mitchell, Robert CarrollNot Available.Item Genetics of immune function in growing pigs and beef cattle(Texas Tech University, 1990-05) Salak, Janeen LynNOT AVAILABLEItem Growth and Development of Swine: Influence of Sorghum Grain Preparation on Carcass Characteristics(Texas Tech University, 1968-05) Braden, Edward JohnNot Available.Item Improving marbling through genetics and feed supplements(Texas Tech University, 2005-12) Anderson, Mark J.; Johnson, Jay W.; Blanton, John R.; Kim, Sung W.Growth and quality are two major concerns to producers of meat animals. Lean growth in meat animal will affect the yield of that animal, and the amount of intramuscular fat will affect the quality of that animal. This thesis contains two studies that involved two different methods of producing an animal with improved growth and meat quality. The first study used animal breeding and genetics to produce a swine line with improved growth, marbling and meat quality. The second study used a feed supplement (Ascophyllum nodosum) to manipulate the processes involved in intramuscular fat deposition to produce greater fat deposition without affecting overall animal performance. Study 1 used two genetic swine lines, a low serum cholesterol (LC) swine line and a modern (M) swine line, that were crossed (LC×LC, LC×M, M×LC, and M×M) to produce a new line with improved weight gain, marbling and overall meat quality. Once weaned animals were penned by cross with three animals per pen. Pigs were weighed every 7 d from birth to end of nursery phase, then every 14 d until harvest at 154 d. Comparison of linear regressions of the LC×M line to the M×M line, and the LC×LC line to the M×LC line found that the LC×M line grew faster (P < 0.05) than the M×M line, and the LC×LC line grew slower (P < 0.05) than the M×LC line. Comparison of linear regressions of the M×M and M×LC lines found that the two lines were not different (P > 0.05) and grew at the same rate. No differences (P > 0.05) were seen in marbling between treatment groups, but LC×LC group tended to have less (P = 0.079) initial juiciness than the M×LC group, and less (P = 0.075) sustained juiciness than both the M×LC and LC×M groups. Offspring from an M line dam had heavier weights at d 14 and from 28-56 d than offspring from LC sows (P < 0.05). Interaction of sire and dam was seen from 0-7 d and from 70-154 d (P < 0.05). From this study two lines were formed with improved growth, but neither had improved marbling and meat quality. Study 2 used English cross steers (n = 32) and heifers (n = 32) that were fed a commercial corn based diet and differentially supplemented with 2% Ascophyllum nodosum to maximized intramuscular fat deposition as determined by quality grade. Cattle were blocked by sex and divided into one control and three treatment groups receiving Ascophyllum nodosum. Treatment 1 (trt 1) received Ascophyllum nodosum from d 36-50 of the feeding period, trt 2 received Ascophyllum nodosum for the last 14 d of the feeding period, and trt 3 which received Ascophyllum nodosum for both d 36-50 and the last 14 d of the feeding period. Cattle were weighted and ultrasounded at the commencement of trial and every 28 d following until they reach an average body weight of 544 kg. No effect for Ascophyllum nodosum supplementation was found on measured performance characteristics. All treatments groups supplemented with Ascophyllum nodosum had higher actual marbling scores (P < 0.05) than controls. Trt 1 was found to have a highest marbling score of 572.5 (P < 0.05) with the control group having the lowest marbling score of 473.75. Trt 1 had a higher (P < 0.05) quality grade than the control group (P < 0.05) and Trt 2 and Trt 3 were not different (P > 0.05) from any other treatment group. Control group had 25% Choice, 62.5% Select; trt 1 had 75% Choice, 18.8% Select; trt 2 had 62.5% Choice, 25% Select and trt 3 had 56.3% Choice and 31.2% Select. Overall, treatment groups had a 39.58 % increase in Choice quality grade and a 37.5 % decrease in Select quality grade when compared to the control group. These two studies revealed that it is difficult to positively affect both lean growth and intramuscular fat. However, through the use of genetic selection and feed supplementation, improvements in lean growth and intramuscular fat deposition can be achieved. Study 1 found that the effect of the dam on growth is often underestimated and more care should be taken when making breeding decisions. Currently many producers are using terminal cross sires to increase the growth of their offspring and the dam lines are bred to have large litters and good mothering ability. Data collected from this trial suggests that the dam also plays an important role in growth, even after lactation. Study two found that the use of Ascophyllum nodosum increases marbling score in English cross cattle without effecting performance. Supplementation from d 36-50 showed the greatest improvement in marbling score. While the mechanism of action for Ascophyllum nodosum as it relates intramuscular fat deposition is unknown the use of Ascophyllum nodosum as a feed supplement can help to improve marbling score in English cross cattle.Item Improving marbling through genetics and feed supplements(2005-12) Anderson, Mark J.; Johnson, Jay W.; Blanton, John R.; Kim, Sung W.Growth and quality are two major concerns to producers of meat animals. Lean growth in meat animal will affect the yield of that animal, and the amount of intramuscular fat will affect the quality of that animal. This thesis contains two studies that involved two different methods of producing an animal with improved growth and meat quality. The first study used animal breeding and genetics to produce a swine line with improved growth, marbling and meat quality. The second study used a feed supplement (Ascophyllum nodosum) to manipulate the processes involved in intramuscular fat deposition to produce greater fat deposition without affecting overall animal performance. Study 1 used two genetic swine lines, a low serum cholesterol (LC) swine line and a modern (M) swine line, that were crossed (LC×LC, LC×M, M×LC, and M×M) to produce a new line with improved weight gain, marbling and overall meat quality. Once weaned animals were penned by cross with three animals per pen. Pigs were weighed every 7 d from birth to end of nursery phase, then every 14 d until harvest at 154 d. Comparison of linear regressions of the LC×M line to the M×M line, and the LC×LC line to the M×LC line found that the LC×M line grew faster (P < 0.05) than the M×M line, and the LC×LC line grew slower (P < 0.05) than the M×LC line. Comparison of linear regressions of the M×M and M×LC lines found that the two lines were not different (P > 0.05) and grew at the same rate. No differences (P > 0.05) were seen in marbling between treatment groups, but LC×LC group tended to have less (P = 0.079) initial juiciness than the M×LC group, and less (P = 0.075) sustained juiciness than both the M×LC and LC×M groups. Offspring from an M line dam had heavier weights at d 14 and from 28-56 d than offspring from LC sows (P < 0.05). Interaction of sire and dam was seen from 0-7 d and from 70-154 d (P < 0.05). From this study two lines were formed with improved growth, but neither had improved marbling and meat quality. Study 2 used English cross steers (n = 32) and heifers (n = 32) that were fed a commercial corn based diet and differentially supplemented with 2% Ascophyllum nodosum to maximized intramuscular fat deposition as determined by quality grade. Cattle were blocked by sex and divided into one control and three treatment groups receiving Ascophyllum nodosum. Treatment 1 (trt 1) received Ascophyllum nodosum from d 36-50 of the feeding period, trt 2 received Ascophyllum nodosum for the last 14 d of the feeding period, and trt 3 which received Ascophyllum nodosum for both d 36-50 and the last 14 d of the feeding period. Cattle were weighted and ultrasounded at the commencement of trial and every 28 d following until they reach an average body weight of 544 kg. No effect for Ascophyllum nodosum supplementation was found on measured performance characteristics. All treatments groups supplemented with Ascophyllum nodosum had higher actual marbling scores (P < 0.05) than controls. Trt 1 was found to have a highest marbling score of 572.5 (P < 0.05) with the control group having the lowest marbling score of 473.75. Trt 1 had a higher (P < 0.05) quality grade than the control group (P < 0.05) and Trt 2 and Trt 3 were not different (P > 0.05) from any other treatment group. Control group had 25% Choice, 62.5% Select; trt 1 had 75% Choice, 18.8% Select; trt 2 had 62.5% Choice, 25% Select and trt 3 had 56.3% Choice and 31.2% Select. Overall, treatment groups had a 39.58 % increase in Choice quality grade and a 37.5 % decrease in Select quality grade when compared to the control group. These two studies revealed that it is difficult to positively affect both lean growth and intramuscular fat. However, through the use of genetic selection and feed supplementation, improvements in lean growth and intramuscular fat deposition can be achieved. Study 1 found that the effect of the dam on growth is often underestimated and more care should be taken when making breeding decisions. Currently many producers are using terminal cross sires to increase the growth of their offspring and the dam lines are bred to have large litters and good mothering ability. Data collected from this trial suggests that the dam also plays an important role in growth, even after lactation. Study two found that the use of Ascophyllum nodosum increases marbling score in English cross cattle without effecting performance. Supplementation from d 36-50 showed the greatest improvement in marbling score. While the mechanism of action for Ascophyllum nodosum as it relates intramuscular fat deposition is unknown the use of Ascophyllum nodosum as a feed supplement can help to improve marbling score in English cross cattle.Item Improving pork qualilty by use of resting, hot fat trimming, and tunnel freeze chilling(Texas Tech University, 1996-05) Milligan, Shylan D.The accumulation of lactic acid, which results in pH decline postmortem, is a very significant change that can result in meat of high or low quality. Low quality or pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) pork is a result of a build-up of lactic acid within the muscle postmortem, coupled with a high internal temperature that ultimately leads to protein denaturation. PSE meat is pale in color because of a loss of pigmentation, is exudative because of a loss of the water and protein binding interface, and has a soft texture because of a loss of protein solubility (Judge et al., 1975). PSE meat is costly to the industry and results in a $0.35 per head loss (Pork Chain Quality Audit, 1994). Approximately 10% of all pork is extremely PSE, and the pork industry average for PSE is between 30 and 35% with a range of 10 and 40% (Kauffman et al., 1992). The importance of PSE pork involves decreased processing yields and increased quality losses, which minimize the United States' ability to be competitive in the export of pork and in the international marketplace.Item Influence of conjugated linoleic acid supplementation on body composition of weaned pigs(2017-04-12) Lindsey, Christina Espindola; Beverly, Marcy M.; Kelley, Stanley F.; Anderson, Mark J.; Stutts, Kyle J.Cross bred gilts (n=32), that were approximately 8 wk old with a mean BW of 16 kg, were used in a randomized complete block design to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on body composition of weaned, growing pigs. The pigs were blocked by weight and randomly assigned to a treatment group; control treatment group (n=8), 0.33% CLA (n=8), 0.66% CLA (n=8), and 1.0% CLA (n=8). Feed was distributed via self-feeders, ad libitum, and CLA supplementation was administered as an oral drench daily at 0600. Body weights were recorded every 7 d, 10th rib back fat thickness was measured every 14 d via ultrasonography, longissimus muscle area (LMA) was measured via ultrasonography on d 0, 42, and 84. Data was analyzed using the mixed procedure of SAS. There was no main effect of CLA supplementation on BW (P = 0.73), 10th rib back fat thickness (P = 0. 36) or LMA (P = 0.69); however, there was a difference in the 10th rib back fat thickness on d 70 and 84 of the trial. Pigs supplemented with 0.66% (P ≤ 0.02) and 1.0% (P ≤ 0.05) CLA had reduced back fat thickness compared to the control group. These data indicate that CLA supplemented at varying rates for 84 d has no effect on BW or LM, but may reduce back fat thickness measured at the 10th rib. Further studies are needed to explore the effects of dietary supplementation of CLA on body composition of growing, weaned pigs.Item Odors and pheromones: influences of olfaction on behavior, physiology, and performance to reduce stress in pigs(Texas Tech University, 2000-12) Krebs, Nadège; McGlone, John J.; Ballou, Michael A.; Carroll, Jeffery A.; Norman, Reid L.; Salazar, IgnacioReducing stress in pig husbandry has become a priority for economical and ethical reasons. The stress axis is anatomically linked to the olfactory system. Pigs have a very developed sense of olfaction. Reducing weaning or handling stress using the sense of olfaction would be a non-invasive and welfare-friendly technique. Exposing pigs at weaning individually to amyl acetate (banana smell, novel odor) or maternal pheromone did not reduce stress within the 2 h of the onset of weaning. Odors and pheromones increased lying behavior but the effects on cortisol concentration and immunology were limited compared to a control odor like water. An induced maternal odor was obtained by feeding sows an onion-flavored diet during lactation. Pigs were weaned onto onion-flavored diet. Onion-exposed pigs fought less at weaning but performance was not affected compared to pigs that had never been exposed to onion. Finishing pigs were trained to an olfactory/gustatory reward (maple syrup) at the finishing barn. When exposed to a novel environment (simulated pre-stun area) with the same reward present, handling time and pig welfare were improved compared to control pigs that had never been trained and were not exposed to maple syrup. Innate preferences to odors were assessed in domestic pigs (tested in a Y-maze) as a model to feral pigs' preferences to odors. Piglets were attracted to boar urine, fox urine, ChileGard™ (habanero pepper extract) and maple syrup and were repulsed by sour milk. Similar results were obtained in feral pigs.Item Pricing efficiency in the U.S. hog futures market(Texas Tech University, 1995-05) Wayoopagtr, ChawNumerous research effi)rts have tested the pricing efficiency of the hog futures market. However, the definitive conclusion of those tests has not yet been established. The objectives of this study were: (1) to identify the structural relationships among the factors which affect the price of five hogs; (2) to formulate the econometric model in order to forecast the five hog prices; and (3) to examine the pricing efficiency of the hog futures market by investigating the relationship among spot prices, expected spot prices, and futures prices of five hogs. Time series and econometric methods were used to predict the hog prices.Item Reducing the incidence of low quality (PSE) pork with vitamin-mineral nutritional modulation(Texas Tech University, 1995-05) Hamman, Linda LeeThe pork industry is a part of the high volume meat industry. Pork comprises 40% of all meat produced in the world (Hovenier et al., 1993). Problems with pork, in comparison to veal or poultry, are the large variation in quality and the undesirable health image, mainly because of pork being too fat (Sebranek, 1982). Pork producers attempted to change this image in the 1950's by instituting breeding programs designed to lower the fat content of pork carcasses. In reality, producers were seeking to produce a trim, muscular "meat type" hog. The change improved the fat and lean content of the pig, but this selection caused an unexpected change in the quality of muscle (Kauffman and National Pork Producers Council, 1992). The main improvement in carcass composition was produced by introducing the halothane gene (porcine stress syndrome, PSS) into the gene pool. While certainly improving carcass muscling, the introduction of the halothane gene made the pigs more susceptible to quality problems related to PSE pork, particularly a reduction in waterholding capacity of muscle. Additionally, meat from halothane positive (homozygous recessive) animals has undesirable palatability. especially tenderness and juiciness, compared to meat from halothane negative (homozygous dominant) pigs (Boles et al., 1991).Item Stereotypic behavior in pregnant swine(Texas Tech University, 1995-12) Dailey, Jeffery WilliamIn Exp. 1, behavior of three genotypes were compared for gilts in outdoor or indoor production systems. The genotypes investigated were PIC Camborough-15, (C-15), PIC Camborough-Blue, and York X Landrace. No significant main effects of genotype were found. The oral/nasal/facial chewing observed in indoors pigs was lower in frequency than similar environment-directed oral/nasal/facial behaviors outdoors. Exp.2 compared behavior over 24-h for individually-kept C-15 sows in three systems: pasture, soil or gestation crates. Each treatment group performed statistically similar amounts of total oral/nasal/&cial behaviors for the 24-h sait5)le period. Frequency, duration and sequential analyses of sow behaviors for an intensive 2-h period starting 30 min post-feeding were investigated. While the precise substrate may differ depending upon availability, sows in each treatment showed similar overall duration and frequency of oral/nasal/facial behaviors. Sequential analyses showed stereotyped behaviors may be natural pre- and post-feeding appetitive and consolatory chewing and rooting activities modified in sequence and form by the available substrates.