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Influence of Exercise on Performance and Carcass Parameters of Confinement Reared Swine¹

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station, Lincoln 68503

Abstract

Fifty-six crossbred growing and finishing swine were used to determine the effect of treadmill exercise on several performance and carcass parameters when housed in confinement on 100% slatted floors. The exercised swine were subjected to walking 1.6 km/hr for 1 hr 5 days per week. The mean experimental duration was 71 days. Jugular vein blood samples and gracilus muscle biopsy samples were obtained prior and following completion of exercise. Exercise had no major influence on average daily gain, daily feed intake or gain/feed ratio. Bone breaking strength of the left fourth metatarsal was significantly (P <.01) greater for exercised pigs than non exercised. However, right third and fourth metatarsal and left third metatarsal bone breaking strengths were not influenced by exercise. Similarly exercise did not affect longissimus muscle color or marbling scores, myoglobin concentration, water holding capacity, penetrometer or shear values, proximate analysis or cooking loss. Growth and advance in maturity resulted or were associated with a significant (P <.05) decline in serum glucose, (P <.01) lactate concentration, and (P <.01) blood cholesterol concentrations. Exercise had no influence on glucose, lactate, blood cholesterol or liver cholesterol. A significant (P <.01) increase in sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein was found as a result of growth, but exercise had no influence on protein extractability. Exercise did not significantly affect RNA-DNA ratio.

¹ Published with approval of the Director as Paper Number 3706. Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. Research reported was conducted under Project Number 13-23.

² Present address, Box 117, Cottage Grove, Wisconsin 53527.

³ The authors wish to express their gratitude to Mr. Thomas Socha for his assistance with the statistical analysis, and to Mr. Tim Stahly for his laboratory assistance.