Articles - Genetics and reproduction

The compounds responsible of boar taint can be reduced through feeding strategies, genetic selection and good management practices.

Weaning one or several weeks straight into pens, a week worth of space can be gained

This second part on AI stud management reviews the procedure for calculating sperm concentration and the elements that affect a correct assessment.

The impact of semen used for post-cervical AI is 2-3 times bigger than that used to produce cervical insemination doses; therefore, preparation of the doses should follow an even stricter control program.

The owner contacted us because he has seen a reduction in performance in recent months, although no decline has been identified in any particular parameter. He says that, overall, “the sows are doing worse".

Boar exposure time, duration and frequency, proper boar: gilt or sow ratio, exposure methods, hormones, …

This tool allows prediction of potential ejaculate yield and to aid in diagnosing subfertility/infertility associated with diseased tissues.

Sows with more than 16 piglets Total Born (TB) per litter have twice as many stillbirths (SB) as those with 13 to 16 TB litters, and three times more SB than sows farrowing litters smaller than 13 TB.

The animals that were retained several times throughout the flow originated from sows with lower average parity. They had a much lower carcass weight (around 10kg) and a higher average score for lameness, pleurisy and enzootic pneumonia lesions.

The farm reports a problem of low prolificacy (mean annual live births of 11.91) and low fertility in summer, with a marked increase in acyclic returns.

We recommend that producers pay more attention to gilts and sows that are at risk of increasing NPD. Situations of increased risk are described.

This second part deals with the problems caused by not  recording properly the cause of abortions, sows and piglets deaths, nurse sows and hormonal treatments.

This first part deals with backward and impossible data, i.e. the sows that are no longer in the farm but still appear both in the management softwatre and the 100% delivery rates in gilts.

Production of a minimum number of doses to maintain profitability and the increase in post-cervical insemination leads to an increase of the doses produced per boar and, therefore, their share of responsibility in the production process.

The shorter and lower dose regime saves money but there is an increased risk of follicular cyst development, which may occur at doses below 13mg/day.

Introduction of post-cervical insemination has a very significant economic impact on the whole of the pork industry, and is a challenge of parallel magnitude to that raised by the transition from natural service to artificial insemination.

Meeting batch breeding targets requires availability of enough service-ready weaned sows and gilts.

This article lists the critical points that must be considered for a successful post-cervical insemination in sows.

Neonatal mortality does not only depend on the design of the farrowing crate, but also on genetic and management factors, as well as litter size, especially with the increased use of hyper-prolific dam lines.

The month of the sow's birth affects the number of piglets born alive in the first farrowing.

It is necessary to find alternatives to definitely implement this technique in primiparous sows and start its use in gilts.

Purchasing decisions are complex because, even though some consumers prefer meat with no fat in sight, they prefer the meat with the highest marbling degree when they taste it.

Traits of high or moderate heritability are easily improved by testing and selection. However, for traits of low heritability, improvements come from exploiting heterosis and by the use of BLUP.

Benefits and risks of heterosis and inbreeding in pig production.