Effect of body development from first insemination to first weaning on performance and culling until the third farrowing of Landrace x Large White swine females

Abstract

The aim of this study was to verify the association of sow body weight development until the 1 st weaning with reproductive performance, piglet production and culling rate until the 3 rd farrowing in 196 primiparous sows using logistic regression models. Each 10kg increase in weight gain in the 1 st pregnancy (OR= 0.63), weight at 1 st farrowing (OR= 0.70), weight at the 1 st weaning (OR= 0.73) or weight gain from the 1 st artificial insemination (AI) to the 1 st weaning (OR= 0.67) decreased the percentage of primiparous sows with long weaning-to-oestrus interval - WOI (>5 days). An increasing lactation length and an increase in the number of weaned piglets were responsible for respectively decreasing (OR= 0.77-0.80, per day of lactation) and increasing (OR= 1.52-1.59, per piglet weaned) the percentage of sows with long WOI. Sows with <159.5kg at weaning had higher odds of non-farrowing (NFR) compared to sows with >170kg (OR= 4.73). Sows with <17.5kg of gain from the 1 st AI to the 1 st weaning had higher odds (OR= 4.88) of NFR than sows gaining >30kg. Each additional lactation day decreased the NFR (OR= 0.74). Females weighing <139kg at the 1 st AI had higher percentages of small numbers of total born in the second parity (STB2, OR= 2.00) and over three parities (OR= 3.28) compared to those weighing ≥139kg. Sows with weight gain <25kg at the 1 st pregnancy had higher odds of STB2 (OR= 3.01) compared to sows gaining >35kg. Each 10kg of increase in weight at the 1 st weaning or in weight gain from the 1 st AI to the 1 st weaning decreased the total culling rate (OR= 0.71 and 0.73, respectively) and culling for reproductive reasons (OR= 0.57 and 0.61, respectively). The culling rate until the 3 rd farrowing was also increased in sows with a smaller first litter size. The results show that not only reaching a minimum weight at the 1 st AI but also having an adequate body weight gain until the 1 st weaning is important for the reproductive performance, productivity and retention of Landrace x Large White Danbred sows in the herd.