An Evaluation of Boar Pheromone Spray to Aid the Stimulation and Detection of Estrus in Small Farms in Nepal

Abstract

A prolonged farrowing interval is common on small farms in Nepal and may be attributable to the absence of boar contact at the time of weaning. To examine whether synthetic boar pheromone spray might be of value to aid the stimulation and detection of estrus, 30 village farms, each with a single sow, were recruited into a field study. All sows entered the study on final weaning from their first lactation at 56 days post partum. For 13 treatment sows, a boar pheromone spray (SOA, Intervet, Boxmeer, The Netherlands) was applied each day after weaning whilst 17 other sows did not receive any stimulus (negative control). When estrous was detected by the farmer, sows were taken to the nearest boar for service. There was a significantly shorter weaning to re-mating interval for treatment sows (42.9 V 82.2 day, p<0.05), with a significantly higher proportion of treatment sows rebred by day 60 after weaning (p=0.024, Fishers Test). It is concluded that use of boar pheromones can improve reproductive efficiency of sows kept under Nepalese village conditions.