Characterization of Growth Performance, Pork Quality, and Body Composition in Mangalica Pigs

Abstract

European heritage breeds, such as the Blonde (B), Red (R), and Swallow-bellied (SB) Mangalica pig, display an extreme propensity to fatten and are reputed to produce superior quality pork. This suggests that Mangalica pork should command a higher price, and the Mangalica is a candidate breed to target niche markets within the United States. Our objectives were to test this hypothesis by (1) directly comparing growth performance and carcass merit of purebred Yorkshire (Y), B, R, and SB Mangalica pigs to identify the best breed for adoption, and (2) comparing indices of pork quality in purebred R, Y, and crossbred (R × Y) pigs to determine if crossbreeding represented a viable alternative to the adoption of purebred Mangalica. Daily feed intake, average daily gain (ADG), and feed efficiency were highest in Y and lowest in SB pigs with B and R ranked intermediately (p p p p p p p p p < 0.11). These data indicate that though Mangalica exhibit poorer growth performance, Mangalica pork exhibits superior pork quality attributes, suggesting that higher price points for Mangalica pork in niche markets are justified.

Keywords

• growth performance
• Mangalica
• marbling
• pork quality
• body composition