Service management + the dry sows Flashcards
What is the main problem with fertility?
- MANAGEMENT - not disease
While a sow is in milk what is happening?
- Prolactin secretion from pituitary stimulating milk production due to sucking stimulus
- Also causes lack of gonadotrophins effecting the ovaries = no fertility
What interactions are on the sow for fertility?
- Light
- Temp
- Humans
- Boars - pheromones = 50% of stimulation
- Feed
- Housing
- Social
- Hygiene
What is an ideal wean to service interval?
5 days - treat sows as in hotel
* Ad-lib feed
Why is bedding hygiene important during oestrus?
- Cervix is open = can get metritis much easier
Why are sodium / mercury lights bad for pigs?
- Orange light - pigs have no red cones = do not get stimulated by the orange light
Why can you feed more for the first 4 weeks?
- Implantation is occurring = more fragile
What are different boar stimulation?
- Teat stimulation - rub along mammary gland - boar nosing
- Back + shoulder pressure - boar mounting
- Side + flank pressure - boar leg position
- Groin manipulation - boar nosing
- Vulval stimulation - boar nosing + service
- Catheter manipulation - boar service
- Vocalisation - boar vocalisation
What temp does boar semen need to be?
- 17 oC
What are signs of heat?
- Vulva – reddening, swelling, mucous
- Vocalisation
- Interest in boar
- Flank nosing
- Smelling of boar
- Standing next to boar
- Standing to back pressure
- Allowing sows or boar to mount
What should a good AI area include?
- Close to sows
- Not near boars
- Nose to nose contact
- Individual insemination pen
- Undisturbed area post insemination
- Flow of pigs
- Good gates/dividers
- Storage facilities
- Light
- Rubbish
- Protection
What influences on piglets born alive?
- Point of ovulation
- Point of fertilisation
- Ability to implant
- Ability to maintain through pregnancy
- Survival through farrowing
What influences farrowing index?
- Conception rate
- Final farrowing rate
- Weaning to service gap
- Weaning to actual conception gap
- Other causes of empty days
What is the total sow cycle?
- 21 weeks
- 16week farrowing
- 4 week until weaning
- 1 week wean to service
What are general targets of pigs?
- Total born / litter > 15.0
- Born alive / litter > 14.5
- Born dead / litter < 0.7
- Born mummified / litter < 0.3
- Conception rate > 95%
- Farrowing rate > 90%
- Farrowing index > 2.3
What are non infectious causes of fertility problems?
- Nutrition
- Stress – physiological, behavioural, heat, cold
- Quality of service & implantation period
- Staff factors
- Seasonal infertility
- Herd profile - age of sows
- Sunburn / sensitisation
- Mycotoxins
- Sow / boar illness – lameness
What are infectious causes of fertility problems?
- Porcine parvovirus
- Porcine Reproductive & Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)
- Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2)
- Swine Influenza
- Leptospirosis
- SMEDI viruses
- Aujeszky’s
- Classical Swine Fever
- Brucella suis
What are less specific infectious problems?
- Systemic infectious giving pyrexia
- Endometritis
- Orchitis
- Physical issues - lameness
What is the oestrus cycle of a sow?
- 21 days
What are common reasons for return to oestrus?
- Fertilisation failure - timing of service, boar problem, semen problem
- Early loss of embryo
What are uncommon reasons for return to oestrus?
- loss of pregnancy - >12d
- Infection
What can cause implantation disruption?
- Stress is the biggest issue
- Nutrition
- Seasonal influence
- Disease
What can cause abortion / still birth?
- Stress
- Parvovirus
- PRRS
- PCV2
- Erysipelas
- Leptospirosis
- Aujeszky’s / CSF
- Toxaemia - plants/mycotoxins
- Systemic pyrexia
- Placentitis
