Department of Genetics, Animal Breeding and Ethology, University of Agriculture in Kraków, 24/28 Mickiewicza Ave., 30-059 Cracow, Poland.
National Institute of Animal Production, Department of Pig Breeding, 32-083 Balice, Poland.
Animal. 2021 Feb;15(2):100122. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2020.100122. Epub 2020 Dec 27.
Selection of appropriate housing conditions for sows is critical for their physical health and long-term reproductive success. The present objective was to evaluate the influences of housing system postweaning (i.e., individual stalls (IS) or group pens (GP)), season and parity on piglet productivity of sows in a commercial setting. This study utilized 3 053 Polish Large White×Polish Landrace sows that were weaned at a rate of 20-30 animals per week at the median age of 4 weeks; 1 474 sows were moved into GP of seven to eight animals each, while 1 579 were placed in IS after weaning. Starting 2 days postweaning all animals were checked for estrus with a teaser boar and then artificially inseminated using 3×10 spermatozoa per dose of an inseminate at the onset of heat and 24 h later. The proportion of sows showing the signs of standing heat at or before 6 days postweaning was greater (P < 0.05) for sows moved to GP compared with IS; this difference manifested mainly in second parity sows weaned in the summer and fall. Conception and farrowing rates were significantly higher (P < 0.01) and the weaning-to-estrus interval shorter in GP compared with IS sows in every season but autumn. Mean litter size was lower (P < 0.05) in IS groups in summer, autumn, and winter, and the number of live-born piglets/sow was lower (P < 0.05) for IS sows in the summer and fall. Beneficial effects of group housing on piglet productivity manifested up until the seventh consecutive farrowing and then began to wane. In summary, there was a significantly greater proportion of sows going estrus "on time" (i.e., <7 days) in group housing compared to single stalls but this effect was confined to the second parity sows during the summer and fall months; these results suggest the existence of a seasonal and age-related aspect to sow fertility worthy of further investigation. While both housing systems have their pros and cons, our present results indicate that, in commercial settings, group housing postweaning improved nearly all reproductive parameters of sows.
为母猪选择合适的饲养环境对其身体健康和长期繁殖成功至关重要。本研究旨在评估断奶后饲养系统（即单独限位栏（IS）或群养栏（GP））、季节和胎次对商业环境中母猪产仔性能的影响。本研究使用了 3053 头波兰大白×波兰兰德瑞斯母猪，断奶时间为每周 20-30 头，平均断奶年龄为 4 周；1474 头母猪被转移到每栏 7-8 头的 GP 中，而 1579 头母猪在断奶后被安置在 IS 中。从断奶后第 2 天开始，所有母猪都用公猪诱情，然后在发情开始时和 24 小时后用每剂 3×10 个精子进行人工授精。与 IS 相比，转移到 GP 的母猪在断奶后 6 天内发情的比例更高（P<0.05）；这种差异主要表现在夏季和秋季断奶的第二胎母猪中。在每个季节，但秋季除外，GP 母猪的配种和产仔率显著更高（P<0.01），断奶至发情间隔更短。夏季、秋季和冬季 IS 组的平均窝产仔数较低（P<0.05），夏季和秋季 IS 母猪的活产仔数/母猪较低（P<0.05）。与单独限位栏相比，群养母猪在第 7 次连续分娩前发情的比例显著更高，但这一效应仅限于夏季和秋季的第二胎母猪；这些结果表明，母猪的繁殖力存在季节性和年龄相关的方面，值得进一步研究。虽然这两种饲养系统都有其优缺点，但我们目前的结果表明，在商业环境中，断奶后采用群养系统可以改善母猪的几乎所有繁殖参数。
