Fattening and slaughter parameters in the first period of fattening of pigs fed restrictive or semi ad libitum diets

The study carried out on 56 fatteners was aimed at determining the effect of feeding level in the first period of fattening on their growth rate as well as their slaughter value and meat quality. Animals fed restricted amount of feed (-25 percent), as compared to those fed semi ad libitum, were characterized by lower daily body weight gains (p less or equal 0.001), higher meatiness (p less or equal 0.05) and more favourable fatty acid profile from the human nutrition point of view. The system of feeding did not have any significant effect on most of the quality attributes of Musculus longissimus dorsi (MLD). An increase in body weight of the animals was accompanied by increased mass of loin and ham, back fat thickness and carcass meatiness, whereas a negligible decrease was observed in parameters of meat texture