THE INFLUENCE OF BREEDS AND LACTATION DURATION ON THE REPRODUCTIVE QUALITIES OF SOWS IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37000/abbsl.2025.115.17Keywords:
sow, farrowing, lactation, service period, piglets, growth, correlation, dispersionAbstract
Our present article aimed to determine the influence of breed and duration of the suckling period on the reproductive qualities of sows, the growth rate of their piglets, and the duration of the subsequent service period. It was found that the breed of sows did not significantly affect key performance indicators during farrowing. Meanwhile, the duration of lactation significantly affects the productivity of sows when weaning. Thus, a reduction in the duration of lactation by 23.4–32.5% led to a decrease in the mass of the piglet litter at weaning by 23.19–24.46% and the mass of a single piglet at weaning by 25.4–27.68%. The survival of piglets and their number at weaning were stable and did not depend on either the breed or the duration of lactation, although the variability of these traits was higher in the Landrace breed. It was found that a decrease in the duration of lactation negatively affected the average daily (decrease by 6.1–12%), absolute (decrease by 3.6–32.9%) and relative (decrease by 1.74–18.9%) gains of piglets. While in the context of breeds this difference was only 2.1–5.0% in terms of average daily, 2.6–3.3% in terms of absolute and 0.89–118.9% in terms of relative gains. It was proven that the duration of lactation significantly affects the interval between weaning and the next manifestation of estrus. It was considerably shorter (by 9.1–22.8%) in animals with a standard lactation period compared to animals with a reduced duration of the suckling period. This period also differs depending on the breed: in animals of the Large White breed, it was 13.9–16.7% shorter compared to Landraces. High direct correlations were found between the total number of piglets born and multiparity and between the number of piglets weaned and the weight of their litter during this period. Significant direct relationships were observed between the duration of lactation and the weight of the litter at weaning; between the total number of piglets born per farrowing and the number of piglets weaned, the weight of the litter at weaning, and the duration of the service period. Significant inverse relationships were established between the weight of one head at weaning and survival and between the number of piglets at weaning and multiparity. A moderate positive correlation is observed between multiparity and the total number of piglets born, between the number of weaned piglets and the duration of the service period, between the mass of the piglet litter at weaning and their number, as well as with the duration of the service period. The number of weaned piglets is moderately positively correlated with both multiparity and the duration of the service period. A moderate inverse correlation is established between survival, on the one hand, and multiparity and the duration of the service period, on the other hand. It was found that the breed factor significantly affected the mass of one piglet at weaning (1.05%) and the duration of the service period (26.51%). The duration of lactation significantly affected the weight of one piglet at weaning (86.7%), the weight of their litter during this period (73.73%), as well as the duration of the period from weaning of piglets to the first insemination of the sow (37.15%). The interaction of these two studied factors only affected the duration of the service period of sows after the studied lactation, amounting to 32.02%.
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