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Effect Of Body Fat Measurement At Breeding And Gestation Energy Level On Farrowing And Lactation Performance Of First Parity Sows, G.W. Libal
South Dakota Swine Research Report, 2001
Records kept by the swine industry reveal that a large precentage of females entering the sow herd are culled prior to reaching their peak reproductive performance expected in their fourth to sixth parity. In herds with low replacement rates over 30% of the females are culled and in herds with high replacement rates this figure exceeds 50% annually. Of those sows not culled for health or structural problems, most are removed because they fail to return to estrus or fail to maintain pregnancy after their first or second litter. Low feed intake and excessive weight loss during lactation have been …