Altrenogest treatment effects on the reproductive performance of sowduring transition to batch farrowing

Abstract

The synthetic progestin altrenogest (ALT) has been widely used in sow farms to concentrate artificial inseminations (AIs) during the transition of weekly productive flow for the batch farrowing system of 14 or 21 days. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of the duration of ALT treatment on the reproductive performance of weaned sows during transition to batch farrowing. Retrospective data was evaluated regarding the reproductive performance of primiparous and multiparous sows that were either not treated (control, n = 165) or treated with 20 mg ALT during 7 days (ALT7, n = 161) or 14 days (ALT14, n = 199) post-weaning. The interval between weaning or the end of ALT supplementation and first AI did not differ among the groups, as well as the percentage of sows inseminated up to 7 or 10 days after the end of treatment or weaning (P ≥ 0.16). There was a tendency for a lower farrowing rate (P = 0.06) in ALT7 (77.2%) when compared to ALT14 (84.5%) and control (86.3%) groups. The total number of piglets born did not differ among groups (P = 0.35). In conclusion, despite the slight delay in the estrus onset, the proportion of estrous sows was not affected, whereas the adjusted farrowing rate was reduced when ALT was administered for 7 days after weaning in multiparous sows during transition to 21 days batch farrowing system.