• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.489-493
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• 2003

Reproductive traits of sows are determined chiefly by the genetic background of the dam herself. Whether the breed of the serviced boars also contributes is not yet clear. A total of 8,946 litters of Landrace (L) sows from 68 farms were examined. Of these, 876, 1,260, and 6,810 litters were produced from natural mating with L, Yorkshire (Y), and Duroc (D) breeds, respectively. The birth litter size (BLS), weaning litter size (WLS), live born piglets (LBP), and survival rate % (SR), of every litter were recorded. A general linear-model procedure was followed to estimate the effects of boars' breed (B), parity (P) and B${\times}$P interaction on the reproductive traits of the sows. Results show that BLS, WLS, and LBP were all significantly (p<0.001) affected by B and P. SR% was significantly influenced by B but not by P. L sows crossbred with Y or purebred with L produced litters with higher BLS, WLS, and LBP values than those bred with D. Pure L breeding yielded litters with lower SR% than did crossbreeding with D, while the difference between SR% due to LY and that due to LD crossbreeding was not significant. The interaction of B with P was significant with respect to BLS, WLS, and LBP (p<0.001), but not SR%. No significant B effect on reproductive traits was measured in sows at their first parity; but at latter parities, LL or LY produced litters with similarly high BLS, WLS and LBP, which values were all significantly greater than those of LD litters. The breed of boar evidently affected the subsequent reproductive performance of L sows and this effect may be further manipulated by the parity effect. Breed differences in semen quality and the success of fetus development with different interactions of the genetic background with the uterus function of the sow that may contribute to these effects are discussed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.568-572
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• 2006

The effect of dietary lysine supplementation on the performance of crossbred lactating sows (n = 49, total 92 litters) and suckling piglets during the warm and cool seasons was studied. Sows were randomly allocated to one of two experimental diets, which were fed throughout a 28-day lactation period. Two diets were formulated based on corn-soybean meal with 6% wheat bran, containing 15% crude protein, and with or without 0.25% lysine-HCl supplementation. No interaction was observed between season and dietary lysine supplementation. Dietary lysine supplementation significantly (p<0.05) increased weaning weight (7.11 vs. 6.46 kg) and daily gain (0.20 vs. 0.18 kg) of piglets. During the warm season lactating sows had significantly lower feed intake (3.78 vs. 6.11 kg, p<0.01), higher weight loss (19.81 vs. 9.73 kg, p<0.01) and backfat loss (0.23 vs. 0.06 cm, p<0.01), longer interval from weaning to estrus (9.32 vs. 6.21 days, p<0.05), lower litter weight gain (42.13 vs. 52.90 kg, p<0.01) and lower daily gain (0.17 vs. 0.21 kg, p<0.01) than lactating sows during the cool season. The results indicate that the influences of dietary treatment and season were independent. The 15.0% CP lactation diet with 0.25% lysine-HCl supplementation did not improve the performance of lactating sows and litter piglets, which was impaired by the warm season.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.57 no.12
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• pp.45.1-45.5
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• 2015

Background: Physical and chemical properties of feedstuffs can be changed by feed processing. Moreover, through various mechanisms, feed processing can affect growth performance and feed efficiency of swine, nutrition value of the feed. Weaning-to service-intervals (WSI), subsequent farrowing rates, and total-born litter sizes were determined by feed intake and metabolic state during lactation. Methods: A total of 20 sows (Landrace ${\times}$ Yorkshire) with an average body weight (BW) of 266.1 kg 4 d before farrowing were used to determine the effect of feed processing on the performance of lactating sows and their offspring. The following two dietary treatments were used: 1) Crumble diet (C); and 2) Mash diet (M). Ten replications were used for each treatment. Back fat thickness of sows was measured 6 cm off the midline at the 10th rib using a real-time ultrasound instrument at 4 d before farrowing, 1 d after farrowing, and during weaning. Sow BW were also checked at 4 d before farrowing, 1 d after farrowing, and during weaning. Fecal score of sows were assessed on d 14. Fecal score of piglets were observed on d 7, 15, and 24. Data were analyzed using t-test procedure of SAS (2014) with sow as experimental unit. Results: No significant (p > 0.05) difference was observed in the reproduction performance of sows between the two treatments. In addition, there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in the growth performance of piglets between the two treatments. Fecal score of sows or piglets showed no significant (p > 0.05) difference either. Conclusions: In conclusion, different feed processing (mash or crumble) did not make any significant difference on the performance of lactation sow or their piglets.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.235-244
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• 2017

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains producing each F4, F5, F6 and F41 fimbriae were lysed by GI24 peptide. The lysate cells were used as ETEC vaccine candidate. This study was carried out to examine whether intramuscular (im) immunization of pregnant sows with the novel vaccine candidate could effectively protect their neonatal piglets against ETEC colibacillosis. All pregnant sows were primed at 11 weeks and were boosted at 14 weeks of pregnancy. Group A sows were im inoculated with PBS. Group B sows were im immunized with $2{\times}10^9$ the mixture. Seral IgG, colostral IgA and IgG titers from group B sows, and seral IgG and IgA levels in group B piglets were significantly higher than those of group A sows and piglets, respectively. After challenge with wild-type ETEC, diarrhea and mortality was not observed in group B piglets. However, diarrhea was observed in 66.7% of group A piglets, and 33.3% mortality was observed. These findings indicate that im immunization of sows with the mixture of the novel vaccine candidate can effectively protect their offspring from ETEC colibacillosis.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.715-722
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• 2019

This study was done to compare the effects of the dietary supplementation of non-genetically modified organism (non-GMO) beet pulp and canola meal on reproduction performance in gestation-lactation sows. A total of 16 lactating sows (Landrace × Yorkshire) were randomly allotted to 1 of 2 dietary treatments with 8 replicates per treatment. Treatments consisted of genetically modified organism (GMO) basal diet (CON) and GMO basal diet supplemented with Non-GMO beet pulp and canola meal (NO). The experiment lasted from 4 weeks prior to farrowing, to day 21 of lactation. The ambient environments in the dry sow accommodation and the farrowing house were kept at a fairly constant temperature of 19 - 21℃, and 60% relative humidity. In the current study, inclusion of non-GMO feed ingredients diets showed comparable effects on the reproductive performance of the sows as that of the basal diet. There was no difference in reproduction performance in sows fed the non-GMO diets compared with CON diets when the feed ingredients were replaced with the feed by-product sugar-beet pulp (SBP) and canola meal (CM). In addition, there was also no significant difference in the growth performance of the piglets fed Non-GMO diets compared with the CON diet (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the results of the current study indicate a comparable effect of non-GMO sugar-beet pulp, and canola meal diet with basal diet on reproduction performance in gestation-lactation sows.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.780-786
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• 2005

This study presents a non-video, non-invasive, automatic, on-site monitoring system the system employs ultrasonic transducers to detect behavior in sows before, during and after parturition. An ultrasonic transmitting/receiving (T/R) circuit of 40 kHz was mounted above a conventional parturition bed. The T/R units use ultrasonic time-of-flight (TOF) ranging technology to measure the height of the confined sows at eight predetermined locations. From this data, three momentary postures of the sow are determined, characterized as standing-posture (SP), lateral-lying-posture (LLP) and sitting posture (STP). By examining the frequencies of position switch Stand-Up-Sequence (SUS) between standing-posture (SP), lateral-lying-posture (LLP) and sitting-posture (STP) rate can be determined for the duration of the sow' confinement. Three experimental pureblooded Landrace sows undergoing normal gestation were monitored for the duration of confinement. In agreement with common observation, the sows exhibited increased restlessness as parturition approached. Analysis of the data collected in our study showed a distinct peak in Stand-Up-Sequence (SUS, i.e. the transition from lying laterally to standing up ) and sitting-posture (STP) rate approximately 12 h prior to parturition, the observed peak being 5 to 10 times higher than observed on any other measurement day. It is concluded that the presented methodology is a robust, low-cost, lowlabor method for the continuous remote monitoring of sows and similar large animals for parturition and other behavior. It is suggested that the system could be applied to automatic prediction of sow parturition, with automatic notification of remote management personnel so human attendance at birth could reduce rates of sow and piglet mortality. The results of this study provide a good basis for enhancing automation and reducing costs in large-scale sow husbandry and have applications in the testing of various large mammals for the effects of medications, diets, genetic modifications and environmental factors.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.356-364
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• 2020

The reproductive performance of lactating sows was investigated by using different feeding methods including conventional feeding (CF, 3 times/d) or free feeding (FF), and different dietary energy level including low energy (LE: 3,300) or high energy (HE: 3,400 kcal/kg) during the hot season. A total of twenty-eight crossbred (Yorkshire × Landrace) sows were distributed into four treatments as a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Sows in the FF group showed lower body weight and backfat loss (p < 0.05) compared with the CF group. Backfat loss during lactation was lower (p < 0.05) in sows fed HE diet than in that fed LE diet. There were no significant differences in litter survival rate and weaning to estrus interval, but the litter weight at weaning was improved (p < 0.05) in FF and HE sows. Hence, it is concluded that using the free-feeding system or increased dietary energy density leads to improved sow performance during hot ambient temperature.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.61 no.5
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• pp.285-293
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• 2019

The objective of this study was to verify the best mating age of gilts at the first parity. Gilts (n = 86) were divided into nine groups in a factorial arrangement with three Ages (AG1, ${\leq}220d$; AG2, 220 to 240 d; AG3, $240{\leq}d$), and three weights (WT1 ${\leq}140kg$; WT2, 140 to 149 kg; WT3, $150{\leq}kg$). A higher body weight gain in AG2 sows during gestation. Sows in AG2 group showed a higher body weight gain at first parity and backfat gain in the parity 2 and 3 during gestation. A greater insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) was observed in AG1 sows compared with AG3 sows at weaning in the second parity. Sows in WT1 group showed a significant positive effect on the plasma IGF-1 at breeding and weaning time in parity 2. Sows in AG3 group showed a higher plasma leptin at breeding, farrowing, and weaning in the parity 1, and at farrowing in parity 2. Sows in WT3 group showed a higher plasma leptin at breeding, farrowing, and weaning in the parities 1 and 2. Considering the insignificant longevity results, the most efficient time for gilts insemination can be at 220 d when their body weight is 140 kg or lower.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.3
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• pp.562-578
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• 2023

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of Ca-Mg complex on the longevity and reproductive performance of sows. In total, seventy-two gilts ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc, average body weight 181 kg) were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 treatments during 4 successive parity in a 4 × 3 factorial arrangement. Treatments consisted of CON (basal diet), CM1 (basal diet -MgO - 0.3% limestone + 0.4% Ca-Mg complex), and CM2 (basal diet - MgO - 0.7% limestone + 0.4% Ca-Mg complex). A higher (p < 0.05) number of totals born and live piglets, and sows increased feed intake during gestation and lactation, increased backfat thickness, and increased estrus interval were observed (p < 0.05) during their third and fourth parity than during their first and second parity. Ca-Mg complex supplementation improved (p < 0.05) the number of total piglets during the first and second parity as well as live-born piglets during the first to third parity, reduction (p < 0.05) in backfat thickness during the third and fourth parity, a higher (p < 0.05) initial and final number of suckling piglets as well as higher weaning weight compared with sows fed CON diet during the first, second, and third parity. The average daily gain (ADG) was higher (p < 0.05) in piglets born to CM1 and CM2 sows regardless of parity. The treatment diets fed to sows lowered (p < 0.05) the duration of first to last piglet birth and placenta expulsion time compared with CON sows. A significant interactive effect (p = 0.042) between parities and treatment diets was observed for the first to last piglet birth. Thus, Ca-Mg complex supplementation by partially replacing limestone in the basal diet enhanced sow performance, specifically during their third and fourth parity, thereby improving sow longevity.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1860-1868
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• 2023

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of optimal trace mineral levels on the physiological responses, reproductive performance, litter performance, blood profiles and milk composition in gestating sows. Methods: A total of 59 multiparous sows (Yorkshire×Landrace) with similar body weight (BW), backfat thickness (BF), and parity were assigned to one of four treatments with 14 or 15 sows per treatment using a completely randomized design. The treatments were 100% (M1), 300% (M3), 600% (M6), and 900% (M9) of the National Research Council (NRC) Nutrient Requirements of Swine. During lactation period, all the sows were fed the same commercial lactation diet. Results: No significant differences were observed in the BW, BF, reproductive performance, milk composition, or growth performance of the piglets. On day 70 of gestation, the serum zinc concentration showed a quadratic response to M6 treatment (quadratic, p<0.05). Moreover, as the dietary mineral levels increased, the zinc concentration increased linearly at 110 days of gestation (linear, p<0.05). Furthermore, copper and iron concentrations in the serum of sows at 24 h postpartum decreased linearly when high levels of dietary minerals were provided (linear, p<0.05). In the serum of piglets, serum zinc concentrations decreased linearly (linear, p<0.05), and iron concentration showed a quadratic response (quadratic, p<0.05) with an increase in trace mineral premix levels in gestation diets. Conclusion: The current trace mineral requirements of NRC (2012) are suitable for gestating sows, and the addition of dietary mineral levels in the gestating diet did not show any improvements during the gestation and lactation periods.