Evaluation of pig genotypes 1. Theoretical aspects of measuring genetic parameters

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Abstract
Predicting the performance of animals is a general problem in animal production, the solution to the problem depending, in part, on being able to describe the animals adequately. Numerous approaches have been made to model the growth of pigs, with different methods being employed to describe the genotype. A simple approach is to describe the potential rate of growth of body protein using a Gompertz equation, and to predict the growth of the other chemical components of the body using allometry. These components are added to determine the body weight of the animal.In this paper an experimental procedure is proposed that will predict values for the parameters of the Gompertz growth equation under non-limiting conditions. These parameters include the rate of maturing of the animal and the mature protein weight. The lipid-to-protein ratio at maturity is required to describe the allometry between protein and lipid. With these few parameter estimates the potential growth rate of animals can be described. It is then possible to use this information to predict the growth rate of animals under conditions constrained by the food or the environment.