Abstract

Aim: Purpose of the study was to breeds to assess the influence of location and sex on the body weight and linear body measurements of pigs in Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Method and materials: Body weight and morpho-biometric studies were conducted on 500 mixed breed of pigs’ comprising Yorkshire, Duroc, Large White and Hampshire breeds. The body weight and biometric traits taken include body weight, body length, chest girth, ear length, foreleg length, head length, height at wither, hind leg length and were analyzed using Statistics analysis software.

Results: The results showed that location had significant (P<0.05) effect in all the parameters except on chest girth and foreleg length. The results for sex indicated that sex had significant (P<0.05) effect on the body weight and linear body measurements of pigs with male having significantly (P<0.05) higher values for body weight, body length, height at wither and hind leg length compared to female pigs. The results revealed that location × sex interaction had no significant (P>0.05) effect in the body weight and all the linear body measurements (body length, chest girth, ear length, foreleg length, head length, height at wither, hind leg length). In conclusion, location significantly influenced most body measurements except chest girth and foreleg length, while sex significantly affected body weight and several linear measurements with males showing higher values, and there was no significant interaction between location and sex on any measured traits.

Statistics