• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.10
• /
• pp.1512-1518
• /
• 2015

This experiment was conducted to assess the welfare and productivity of gestating gilts in groups with the electronic sow feeding (ESF) system compared to conventional stalls. A total of 83 gilts ($Yorkshire{\times}Landrace$) were housed into individual stalls to be artificially inseminated. Gilts confirmed pregnant were introduced to their treatment, conventional stalls (ST) or groups with the ESF system. All gilts were taken to the farrowing crates one week prior to their expected farrowing date. In the gestation period, there were no significant differences between gilts allocated to ST and ESF on growth performance. However, backfat thickness gain (p = 0.08) and body condition score (BCS) at 110 days of gestation (p = 0.10) tended to be higher in ESF gilts than ST. Likewise, gilts housed in group showed significantly higher estimated body muscle contents at 110 days of gestation (p = 0.02) and body muscle change during gestation (p = 0.01). There was a trend for a shorter parturition time in ESF gilts (p = 0.07). In the lactation period, group housed gilts showed a tendency to increased BCS changes (p = 0.06). Reproductive performance did not differ with the exception of piglet mortality (ST = 0.2 no. of piglets vs ESF = 0.4 no. of piglets; p = 0.01). In blood profiles, ST gilts showed a higher cortisol level at 110 days of gestation (p = 0.01). Weaning to estrus interval was shorter in gilts housed in ESF than ST (p = 0.01). In locomotory behaviors, ESF gilts recorded a tendency to elevate locomotion score at 36, 70, and 110 days of gestation (p = 0.07, p = 0.06, and p = 0.06, respectively). Similarly, ESF gilts showed significantly higher incidence of scratches at 36, 70, and 110 days of gestation (p = 0.01). Moreover, farrowing rates were higher in stall treatment (97.6%) compare to group housing treatment (95.2%). In conclusion, while group housed gilts with ESF system positively affected welfare status in combination with less physiologically stressful environments and activity, it negatively effects piglet mortality, farrowing rates and injuries of gilts.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.48 no.6
• /
• pp.777-784
• /
• 2006

This study was designed to investigate between the semen characteristics and sperm chromatin structure in boar with different farrowing rates and relationship between fertility by AI and results of sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA). The CASA (computer-aided sperm analysis) and SCSA were performed with liquid semen in boars. The all SCSA parameters based on the farrowing rates by AI were significantly differ (P<0.05). The significant negative correlations (P<0.05) were observed between all SCSA parameters and farrowing rate obtained by AI in the field. In conclusion, these results suggest that the sperm parameters evaluated in these studies may be useful indicators to predict the fertility by AI.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.65 no.6
• /
• pp.1308-1322
• /
• 2023

Minerals is required small amounts among various nutrients, but it has a significant impact on sow longevity and reproduction performance. This study was carried out to see the beneficial effects of marine-derived Ca-Mg complex on the reproductive performance of sows during four-parity periods. Seventy-two gilts ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc), with an average body weight of 181 kg, were randomly allocated to three groups; CON (basal diet), 0.3LC (CON - MgO - 0.3% limestone + 0.4% Ca-Mg complex), and 0.7LC (CON - MgO - 0.7% limestone + 0.4% Ca-Mg complex). During parity 3 and 4, the expression level of SCD gene was lower in the umbilical cord of piglets born to 0.3LC and 0.7LC sows compared with the CON sows. During parity 2, 3 and 4, SLC2A2 and FABP4 gene expressions were higher in the umbilical cord of piglets born to 0.7LC sows and the placenta of sows from 0.3LC groups, respectively. Ca-Mg complex increased (p < 0.05) Ca and Mg concentrations in sows and their piglets' serum as well as in colostrum regardless of parities. The serum vitamin D concentration was higher (p < 0.05) in their first parity, whereas serum prolactin and estrogen concentrations were higher (p < 0.05) during the fourth and third parity, respectively. The growth hormone concentrations were higher (p < 0.05) in the piglets born to sows during the first and second parity. The fat and immunoglobulin A (IgA) concentrations in colostrum were higher (p < 0.05) during the third and fourth parity, respectively. A reduction (p < 0.05) in salivary cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine concentrations was observed in 0.3LC and 0.7LC sow groups compared with CON after farrowing regardless of parity, however before farrowing, a reduction in norepinephrine was observed. Before farrowing, the epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations were higher (p < 0.05) during the first and second parity. After farrowing, the concentration of these hormones was higher during the second parity. Taken together, sows' parity and dietary Ca-Mg complex supplementation influenced serum metabolites, colostrum nutrients, stress hormones as well as the gene expressions related to lipid and glucose metabolism.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.155-159
• /
• 1982

A polyvalent live Escherochia coli oral vaccine were prepared by the use of 5 field isolates of enteropathogenic E. coli, serotypes 08 : K87, K88a, b ; 0138 : K81, K88a, c ; 0141 : K85a, b, K88a, b ; 0149 : K91, K88a, c and 0157 : K'V17', K88a, c. Some field experiments were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the polyvalent live E. coli oral vaccine in the prevention of neonatal colibacillosis in piglets suckling orally vaccinated sows. Seventy-nine pregnant sows in an intensive pig farm were vaccinated with oral vaccine 4 weeks prior to farrowing and 19 sows were chosen for control. The piglets suckling vaccinated sows showed a significant protection against neonatal enteric colibacillosis during the 2 weeks observation period from the farrowing but no significant differences in protection between vaccinated and control group were observed with piglets older than 15 days.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.63 no.4
• /
• pp.892-903
• /
• 2021

The objective of this study is to investigate effect of air cleaner operated during pig breeding period on stress hormones of pigs and their pork quality. The stress hormones (cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine) in blood sample of pigs reared in the housing rooms with or without air cleaner have been measured according to a pig's rearing stage: 0 day (farrowing), 21st day (farrowing-weaning), 70th day (weaning-nursery), 140th day (nursery-growing), and 180th day (growing-fattening). The comparison of pork quality according to the application of an air cleaner was performed through the carcass analysis of the pigs shipped from swine house. The levels of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine in pigs reared in housing rooms with and without air cleaners were found to be within the range of normal reference values. Among pork quality evaluation items, the thickness of intermuscular fat and final carcass grade of pigs raised in housing room with air cleaner was generally superior to those of pigs raised in housing room without air cleaner (p < 0.05). Based on the results obtained from this study, it is concluded that air cleaner does not have a significant effect on reducing pig stress but contributes to improving pork quality in pig breeding.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.33-44
• /
• 2008

The purpose of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters and trend of Landrace and Yorkshire pigs, which were raised on private farms from 1999 to 2005 and tested for their reproductive performance by the Korea Animal Improvement Association. Prior to analysis, records without pedigree or having value with larger than±3×standard deviation for the Total number of born were excluded. The effects of breed and environmental factors were estimated with least square method(Harvey, 1979), and estimation of breeding values and genetic parameters were performed on the data of 1’st litter only with GIBBSF90(Misztal, 2001) which was programmed according to Gibbs Sampling method based on Bayesian Inference by Gianola and Fernando(1986), Jensen(1994) and others. Gibbs sampling was performed 50,000 times for each parameter, and the first 5000 samples were regarded as those in burn-in period and thus, excluded for post hoc analysis. Total number of born and total number of accident were statistically significant(p<0.01) for the breed, farrowing year, farrowing season and parity effects, and the number born alive at birth was statistically significantp<(0.01) for the breed, farrowing year, farrowing season and parity effects. No particular trend was observed in the genetic and phenotypic improvement of the total number of born and number born alive at birth before 2001, when the piglet registration system started, but the tendencies of increasing for the total number of born and number born alive and decreasing for the total number of accident were observed since 2001. Somewhat higher heritability estimates of our study seems to be attributed to the situations that first parity records with poor farrowing performances were used in the analyses and it was impossible to obtain accurate reproductive performance due to the absence of criteria for record keeping at the level of individual farms.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.171-182
• /
• 2009

Conventionally, many pig producers have utilized a continual sow managements system that the matings, farrowings and weanings are done weekly basis. But this transitional method is not able to cut the cycle of diseases and fully apply all-in/all-out system because of the continuous flow of sows and pigs. Conventional weekly management system is currently limiting in small farm to work efficiently both for workers and pigs. Therefore, pig producers have found novel management methods for applying all-in/all-out system, improving pig health, leading to better growth, lowering mortality and reducing medication costs nowadays. Moreover, all-in/all-out pig management system has known as a strategy for improving productivity in swine farm. The batch system is one of the best management methods to adopt all-in/all-out pig management system that prevent spreading diseases in pig and remove cycle of diseases. Batch farrowing system is a concept for providing a group of sows that delivery within a specific farrowing interval and inducing a large enough scale of piglets to fill the weaner facilities. There are different types of batch farrowing system with batch size and interval of farrowing when several factors at the swine farm are considered such as total number of sows, available facilities in the farm, and the efficiency of workforce. Sow managements such as farrowing, weaning and breeding, every 3 weeks rather than weekly, 2 or 5-week interval have advantages for workers and reproductive cycle of sows as well as pig flow. Because there are several pros and cons both in weekly and batch management system, various factors should be considered to apply the most suitable management system in each individual farm. To improve poor swine productivity in Korea compared to ED, batch system for sows will be an alternative choice which is able to prevent high incidence of diseases in swine farm such as PMWS, PRRS, PRDC and PED because all-in/all-out pig management can be also applied automatically by using this management system.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.61 no.3
• /
• pp.147-153
• /
• 2019

A goal for swine farming is the improvement in the number of live-born and weaned piglets per sow. Hence, the effect of parities should consider the correlation between the component traits of reproductive performance, weaning, and duration. Sows were housed in farrowing pens (W 2.2 ${\times}$ D 1.8 ${\times}$ H 1.2 m) on a partially slatted plastic floor. Twenty sows used in this study were between the first and sixth parity in gilts (P1), parity 2-5 (P3), and parity 6-9 (P6). Data collection by parity was classified into three categories: (1) reproduction performance (gestation length, total number of piglets born, number of piglets live born, number of piglets stillborn, total piglet birth weight; (2) weaning traits (weaning period, number of piglets weaning, total piglets weaning weight); (3) duration traits (farrowing duration, placenta expulsion duration, time from last piglet to first placenta, average birth interval, and tail wagging behavior). Gestation length was higher in P6 than P1 and P3 of different parity sows. The maximum value in P1 and P3 was 117 days, but the median value in P6 was 117 days (p < 0.05). The total number of piglets born (p = 0.113), number of piglets live born (p = 0.118), number of still piglets born (p = 0.151), and total piglet birth weight (p = 0.117) were not affected by parity. The number of live piglets was higher than the other parities by an average of $15.6{\pm}2.1$ in P1. The duration of farrowing was the lowest at 22.2 min in P6, but the maximum value was 42.2 min more than other parities (p = 0.355). Weaning traits of sows also did not differ significantly (p > 0.05), but the weaning period from P1 was lower than that of the other parities (p = 0.170). The number of piglets weaned was 10 heads on average in P1, P3, and P6 (p < 0.05). However, the mean values of the total piglet weaning weight (p = 0.377) of P6 (62.0 10.4 kg) were higher than those of P1 (54.9 10.2 kg) and P3 (58.4 13.6 kg). The placenta expulsion duration was higher in P6 than that in P1 and P3 (p = 0.447). The time from the last piglet to first placenta was be lower in P3 than that of the other parities (p = 0.206). The average birth interval was higher in P3 than that of the other parities (p = 0.156). Tail wagging (count) behavior was higher in P6 than in the other parities (p = 0.065). The data showed that the reproduction performance, total piglets born, and weight were higher in the gilts group, and higher in the weaning trait than that in the P6 group. This study examined the relationship between reproductive performance, birth interval and tail motion according to sow parity. Regarding duration, farrowing duration was lower in P6 than that in the other parities, but placenta expulsion and tail wagging were higher in P6 than in the other parities. Therefore, it is possible that the results from these sows could be used as basic data for effective farm management.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.385-395
• /
• 2010

The objective of this study was to determine optimal lysine requirement of lactating Mong Cai sows and their piglets. An experiment was conducted using 30 Mong Cai sows in a factorial randomized design with 5 dietary total lysine levels (0.60, 0.70, 0.85, 1.0 and 1.15%) for one-week pre-partum and 5 dietary total lysine levels (0.60, 0.75, 0.90, 1.05 and 1.2%) for lactation diets. Mong Cai sows were about 1 to 2 years old and had an initial body weight of 120 kg (sd = 2.5) after farrowing. Sows were restrictively fed 1.7 kg feed during gestation and were fed ad libitum during lactation. Diets of sows contained about 12% CP during pregnancy and about 14% CP for the lactation period. DE concentration of the diets ranged between 12.5-13.0 MJ of DE. Water was supplied at up to 8 liters per sow per day in a basin. Studied traits were related to both sows and their progeny. Sows were weighed at 107 days of gestation, after farrowing and at weaning. Sow back-fat depth was measured at 110 days of gestation, after farrowing, at 21 days of lactation and at weaning. Number of piglets born, at 24 h after birth, at 21 days of age and at weaning were recorded. Piglets were weighte at birth, at 21 days and at weaning. Supplying lysine one week pre-partum had no effect on the number of piglets born nor litter weight at birth (p = 0.776 and p = 0.224). A positive effect of increasing dietary lysine level during lactation from 0.60 to 1.20% was observed with regard to less sow weight loss, and increased piglet weight at 21 days and at weaning. The level of lysine that resulted in the lowest sow backfat loss and the highest weaned piglet weight was 1.05%; this may be the optimum level of lysine for the diet of lactating Mong Cai sows. At this lysine level, the number of weaned piglets was also highest.