The Post‐Cervical Insemination does not Impair the Reproductive Performance of Primiparous Sows

Abstract

The study evaluated the reproductive performance of primiparous sows submitted to post-cervical insemination (PCAI) compared with cervical artificial insemination (CAI). Difficulty with catheter introduction, the occurrence of bleeding or semen backflow during insemination, and volume and sperm cell backflow up to 60 min after insemination were also evaluated. Sows were homogenously distributed, according to body weight loss in lactation, lactation length, weaned piglets, weaning-to-oestrus interval and total born in previous farrowing, in two treatments: PCAI (n = 165) with 1.5 × 10(9) sperm cells in 45 ml (2.4 ± 0.04 doses per sow) and CAI (n = 165) with 3 × 10(9) sperm cells in 90 ml (2.5 ± 0.04 doses per sow). During PCAI, sows were inseminated in the absence of boars. Transabdominal real-time ultrasonography was performed at oestrus onset, immediately before the first insemination and at 24 h after last insemination. There was no difference (P > 0.05) between treatments in farrowing rate (91.5% × 89.1%) and litter size (12.5 × 11.9 piglets born, respectively for PCAI and CAI sows). Successful passage of the intrauterine catheter in all the inseminations was possible in 86.8% (165/190) of sows initially allocated to PCAI treatment. Difficulty of introducing the catheter in at least one insemination did not affect the reproductive performance of PCAI sows (P > 0.05). Bleeding during insemination did not affect (P > 0.05) the farrowing rate in both treatments, but litter size was reduced in CAI and PCAI sows (P ≤ 0.06). Percentage of spermatozoa present in backflow within 1 h after insemination was greater in CAI than PCAI sows (P < 0.01). More than 85% of primiparous sows can be successfully post-cervical inseminated with doses containing 1.5 × 10(9) sperm cells in the absence of the boar during insemination without impairing the reproductive performance.

Sow fertility after insemination with varying doses of volume and spermatozoa count

“…Additionally, a key feature in the success of intrauterine insemination is the deposition of semen in the cranial parts of the female reproductive system (body of uterus, uterine horns, uterotubal junctions, or oviducts). By the use of this technique, the insemination dose volume and the number of spermatozoa in a dose can be radically reduced, whereas the fertility of sows remains the same or improves as compared with that of the classic intracervical insemination technique (7,11,12). Several factors can explain the success of intrauterine insemination.…”

“…To overcome this problem, AI doses of reduced volume and spermatozoa numbers delivered by the intrauterine route have received considerable attention. However, an overriding consideration in using reduced AI doses and new delivery techniques is that when compared with the classic intracervical insemination, sow fertility rates should not be compromised (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12). Due to the high cost of high genetic quality boars used in the Serbian commercial pig production, it is necessary to increase the number of insemination doses per boar per year, while maintaining the sow fertility rate.…”

Comparación entre inseminación artificial cervical y post-cervical porcina en nulíparas y multíparas

“…Cabe aclarar que, debido al pequeño tamaño muestral, no fue posible aplicar un análisis estadístico a estos resultados. Estos resultados coinciden con reportes previos realizados en multíparas y primíparas, donde los resultados con IAPC son similares o incluso mejores que con IAC siempre y cuando el número de espermatozoides utilizados no sea demasiado bajo (Hernández-Caravaca et al, 2012, Martínez et al, 2010, Rozeboom et al, 2004, Sbardella et al, 2014. Respecto de las nulíparas, el pequeño número de cerdas que retornaron a celo luego de las inseminaciones es frecuente en esta categoría (Trolliet, 2010).…”

Effect of climate and insemination technique on reproductive performance of gilts and sows in a subtropical zone of Mexico

“…It has been reported that farrowing rate with intra-uterine AI decreased drastically compared to cervical AI (75% vs 94%; with 0.5 x 10 9 spermatozoa per dose) in primiparous F 1 (same genotype) sows (Serret et al 2005). However, Sbardella et al (2014) did not find any differences in the farrowing rate (91.5% vs. 89.1%) for PCAI (1.5 × 10 9 sperm cells in 45 ml; 2.4 doses per sow) and CAI (3 × 10 9 sperm cells in 90 ml; 2.5 doses per sow) for Landrace x Large white primiparous sows, although this trial was carried out under controlled conditions, and results may change under commercial conditions. Thus, PCAI seems to be beneficial only when a reduced number of sperm cells are used (sex-sorted semen) or reduced the lifespan of sperm cells (frozen-thawed semen).…”