Performance and meat quality of organically versus conventionally fed and housed pigs from weaning till slaughtering

The effects of organic nutrition on growth performance, meat and carcass traits in either a conventional or an organic housing unit from weaning till slaughtering were evaluated in terminal crossbreeds of a paternal line and a maternal 3-way crossbreed of Seghers hybrid. All pigs were reared in a conventional way from birth till weaning (4 weeks). One week after weaning they were moved to either a conventional or an organic barn. Eight pens of 4 pigs (2 barrows and 2 gilts) were held in both housing types. The study started when the pigs reached the age of 10 weeks. Half of the groups in each barn received a conventional diet, and the other half received an organic diet. Both feeds were isocaloric, neither of them contained antibiotic growth promoters. Three-phase feeding was applied. The organic housing led to a higher feed intake throughout the experiment (P < 0.001), which resulted in a faster growth (P < 0.001) but a lower meat percentage (P < 0.05). Organic nutrition did not affect growth performance and carcass quality. Neither organic nutrition nor housing led to relevant differences in meat quality traits.