High lifetime and reproductive performance of sows on southern European Union commercial farms can be predicted by high numbers of pigs born alive in parity one1

Abstract

Our objectives were 1) to compare reproductive performance across parity and lifetime performance in sow groups categorized by the number of pigs born alive (PBA) in parity 1 and 2) to examine the factors associated with more PBA in parity 1. We analyzed 476,816 parity records and 109,373 lifetime records of sows entered into 125 herds from 2008 to 2010. Sows were categorized into 4 groups based on the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of PBA in parity 1 as follows: 7 pigs or fewer, 8 to 11 pigs, 12 to 14 pigs, and 15 pigs or more. Generalized linear models were applied to the data. For reproductive performance across parity, sows that had 15 or more PBA in parity 1 had 0.5 to 1.8 more PBA in any subsequent parity than the other 3 PBA groups ( P< 0.05). In addition, they had 2.8 to 5.4% higher farrowing rates in parities 1 through 3 than sows that had 7 or fewer PBA (P < 0.05). However, there were no differences between the sow PBA groups for weaning-to-first-mating interval in any parity (P ≥ 0.37). For lifetime performance, sows that had 15 or more PBA in parity 1 had 4.4 to 26.1 more lifetime PBA than sows that had 14 or fewer PBA (P < 0.05). Also, for sows that had 14 or fewer PBA in parity 1, those that were first mated at 229 d old (25th percentile) or earlier had 2.9 to 3.3 more lifetime PBA than those first mated at 278 d old (75th percentile) or later (P < 0.05). Factors associated with fewer PBA in parity 1 were summer mating and lower age of gilts at first mating (AFM; P < 0.05) but not reservice occurrences (P = 0.34). Additionally, there was a 2-way interaction between mated month groups and AFM for PBA in parity 1 (P < 0.05); PBA in parity 1 sows mated from July to December increased nonlinearly by 0.3 to 0.4 pigs when AFM increased from 200 to 310 d old (P < 0.05). However, the same rise in AFM had no significant effect on the PBA of sows mated between January and June (P ≥ 0.17). In conclusion, high PBA in parity 1 can be used to predict that a sow will have high reproductive performance and lifetime performance. Also, the data indicate that the upper limit of AFM for mating between July and December should be 278 d old.

Number of pigs born alive in parity 1 sows associated with lifetime performance and removal hazard in high- or low-performing herds in Japan

“…However, there was no difference in WMI between PBA13G and PBA8G sow groups. This result was consistent with our previous EU study showing no difference in WMI between sows with PBA 7 pigs or fewer and sows with PBA 15 pigs or more (Iida et al, 2015). This lack of difference can be explained by the fact that WMI is highly associated with luteinizing hormone secretion through the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovary axis of sows in lactation and postweaning .…”

Factors for improving reproductive performance of sows and herd productivity in commercial breeding herds

“…A southern European study has shown that PBA in parity 1 is a factor that can help producers to identify prolific sows at an early stage [39]. In the study, sows were categorized into 4 groups based on the 10 th , 50 th and 90 th percentiles of PBA at parity 1.…”

“…4Pigs born alive (PBA) at different parities for 4 sow groups. The 4 groups were categorized by the basis of the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles of PBA at parity 1 [39]. *This study includes 476,816 parity records of 109,373 sows entered into 125 southern EU herds.…”

“…However, no differences have been found between the PBA groups categorized at parity 1 for the number of pigs weaned, WMI or 21-day adjusted litter weights [39, 40]. The lack of any difference between the PBA groups for the number of pigs weaned indicates that extra piglets born to the most prolific sows were fostered on less prolific sows.…”

“…Another example of the importance of gilt age at first-mating is that sows first mated at a high age of 278 days or more old, had lower lifetime performance than those mated at an earlier age [39]. This difference is probably because sows with high age at first-mating are likely to become low-efficiency sows as a result of having increased culling intervals due to reproductive failure.…”