Selection for efficient lean growth on restricted feeding: 1. Genetic Parameters

Abstract

Two lines of Large White pigs were divergently selected for high and low growth rate over a 6 week period starting at 50 kg live on a fixed ration over a fixed time to test the hypothesis that this type of selection would exploit variation in the efficiency of food utilisation, associated with variation in lean relative to fat deposition This paper reports estimates of genetic parameters on 1751 pigs in the two lines from the foundation to the third generation of selection.