Development of a new genetic evaluation model for carcass quality based on crossbred performances of Piétrain boars in the Walloon Region of Belgium

In context of the development of the genetic evaluation system of Piétrain boars for crossbred performances, a genetic evaluation model was developed for the estimation of genetic merit of boars for backfat thickness (BF) and meat percentage (%meat). The model developed was a random regression model using linear splines on age which knots at 175, 200 and 250 days. Variance components were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood and Gibbs sampling. Estimated heritability from 150 to 300 days increased from 0.56 to 0.75 for BF and from 0.55 to 0.69 for %meat. Genetic correlation between BF and %meat varied between -0.90 and -0.93 from 150 to 300 days. According to the study of residuals, the developed model was considered to fit well the data especially between 175 and 250 days of age.