Effect of a heart defect, foramen ovale patens on feed conversion and swine carcass quality

Incidence and consequences of a more and more frequent heart defect, foramen ovale patens (FOP) was studied in Slovakian Large White and Landrace breeds. The authors underline the significance of genetic drift, in- and linebreeding (negative selection) in increasing frequency of FOP defect. On a large-scale slaughterhouse material the negative effects of FOP was investigated on daily weight gain, food conversion, consumption of total digestible nutrients and carcass quality (Table 1 and 2). The affected animals showed decreased weight gain, poor food conversion and increased intake of digestible nutrient (p<0,001, and 0,01). The cost of increased feed intake and the thicker backfat are regarded as serious economic loss and calls attention for preventive measures against genetic drift in Slovakian Large White and Landrace breeds.