Phenotypic and production characteristics of locally adapted pig ecotypes in South-Western Agro-ecological Zone, Uganda

Abstract

The study to document phenotypic characteristics of locally adapted pigs was carried out in South-Western Agro-ecological Zone (SWAEZ) Uganda. 784 households were included; keeping a total of 3032 pigs including piglets. Only one adult pig in each household was used for recording of phenotypic characteristics. These included 252 males and 1032 females totalling 1284 pigs. Piglets (0-3 months old) constituted a slightly bigger percentage of the population 1149 (38%), followed by adult females 1084 (34%), growing females 361 (11.9%), growing males 252 (8.3%) and adult males (7.8%), respectively. Locally adapted pigs displayed unique phenotypic characteristics, which differentiated them from exotic breeds. In this study, the key body features of the pigs included skin colour and pattern, type of head, ear orientation, tail, backline, and number of teats in addition to herd related data. The data was subjected to the analysis of variance and Chi-square test procedures in SPSS 2016 to compare prevalence of traits in the different districts. Majority of the pigs had black skin colour with long straight hair, with small body weight and long thin snouts and semi-lop ears projecting forward. Herd size was between 1 and 7 majorities being piglets. Widespread phenotypic and genetic characterisation should be undertaken for effective conservation planning and sustainable utilization of locally adapted pigs.