Swine Resources - Breeding/Reproduction

Feb 27, 2017

Study of mummies and stillborn piglets can indicate management issues during gestation and farrowing.

While the emphasis for most sow farms is on number of pigs born alive as it should be, sometimes, the ones that aren’t born or are born dead — stillborns and mummies — provide better clues as to where management can improve.

20-Feb-2017

This article discusses 4-week batch farrowing (4WBF), very common in small farms (250 sows) in some other countries, including France. Analysis will be based on a comparison with 3-week batch farrowing (3WBF).

It is very common, in today’s swine industry, to use more-than-1-week batch farrowing systems in small farms (up to 500 productive sows). The advantages on those batch farrowing systems include: better organization of farm tasks, as well as both health and logistic advantages due to the production of larger weaning batches, farther apart in time and with a bigger age difference amongst them. The most common management in Spain is 3-week batch farrowing, with an average lactation length of about 28 days, but there are several different types of batch farrowing systems.

This article discusses 4-week batch farrowing (4WBF), very common in small farms (250 sows) in some other countries, including France. Analysis will be based on a comparison with 3-week batch farrowing (3WBF)

Jan 18, 2017

Gene-editing techniques could help to improve stocks of farmed pigs by boosting supplies of sperm from prized sires.

Scientists have created male pigs that could be used as surrogates capable of producing sperm that contains the genetic blueprint of sought-after pigs. The surrogates have functional testes but do not have specialized stem cells that are required to produce sperm containing their own genetic information, the researchers say.

Jan 06, 2017

While that sounds simple, a lot of effort goes into making sure those details are carried out each and every day. It starts with the details around room setup and supply management. Before farrowing begins, each room needs to be stocked with drying totes and farrowing-assistance kits. Heat lamps should be function checked. If you have everything ready to go from the start, you’re not going to waste time running back and forth to the supply room.

Article Snippets:

Control of oestrus in problem gilts and sows

Farm profitability depends on weaned pig output which is controlled by the number of females bred, ie., meeting the batch breeding target. Missed batch targets result in empty batch farrowing places with numbers weaned and finished pigs of zero so, each empty farrow place will cost the value of an entire litter. Meeting batch breeding targets requires availability of enough service-ready weaned sows and gilts. Sow availability depends on predictable wean-to-oestrus intervals and the management of sows previously bred but returning. Gilt pool management drives the availability of cyclic gilts.

June 2016

A previously-validated method to induce variation in milk production between teats of the same udder that is not related to the ante-posterior location of the teat was used. In the first lactation, over half of the sows’ teats (teats 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 from 1 side of the udder, and teats 3, 4, and 7 from the other side) were sealed with tape so that they were non-functional (treated (TRT) teats), whilst the other six unblocked teats were left unblocked so that they were functional (control (CTL) teats). Sixty-four piglets in eight litters were observed on days 2 and 10 of the second lactation when all teats were available. Teat use, piglets’ behavior during nursings and growth performances were analyzed according to a 2 × 3 factorial design including the position (anterior, middle and posterior) and the treatment (CTL vs. TRT) of teats as fixed factors.

April 2016

Although Post-Cervical Artificial Insemination (PCAI) is a recently introduced technique, its discovery dates back to 1959, when the use of this methodology in pigs was described for the first time by J.L. Hancock. This technique was forgotten until only a few years ago, when its implementation really takes off at farm level. Although its use is widespread worldwide and it is a relatively easy to implement reproductive technology, we must not fail to consider some critical points in order to maximize efficiency. First of all, we should note that, at the present time, the technique must be applied to those sows that have farrowed at least once. Heat status in these females must be optimal, and to make sure it is, we must consider the reproductive physiology of the female: maximum dilation of the cervix occurs during the estrus phase close to ovulation, at which time the inner cannula can pass through the cervix without difficulty and reach the corpus uteri.

March 2016

The following is an article from Pig333.com. For the original article and more from Pig333, please click here.

The previous article discussed the importance of excellent results in the first farrowing to place those sows on top of the production pyramid. To achieve this, it is up to us to offer the future sows an extremely high quality management in areas such as nutrition, health, handling, etc. Some factors however are, to some extent, beyond our control. One such factor is the weather, especially in Southern Europe, where temperatures are very high in the summer.