Analysis of culling reasons during the breeding cycle and lifetime performance: The strategy to remove crossbred Landrace and Large White sows under tropical climate

Abstract

Background and Aim: Sow culling is an important practice in commercial swine production because it is directly associated with the economic efficiency of the breeding herd. This study was conducted to analyze the reasons for sow culling and quantify the factors affecting culling in crossbred Landrace and Large White sows under tropical climate. Materials and Methods: A total of 4887 culled sows from one parent stock farm located in Ratchaburi province, Western Thailand, were examined in this study. Culling reasons were grouped into the following eight categories according to farm management: (1) Reproductive disorders, (2) old age, (3) low performance, (4) diseases, (5) lameness, (6) udder problems, (7) body condition, and (8) other illnesses. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between culling sows and environmental factors. Effects of parity and season of culling were considered as fixed effects in a statistical model. Results: Descriptive statistics indicated the following factors accounting for sow removals: Old age (34.93%, n=1707), reproductive disorders (29.32%, n=1433), low performance (12.62%, n=617), lameness (12.56%, n=614), diseases (4.8%, n=235), body condition (4.68%, n=229), udder problems (0.79%, n=39), and other illnesses (0.26%, n=13). Parity and season of culling were also found to have a significant effect on sow culling (p<0.05). The majority of culling sows in this population were of old age and high parity. Conclusion: This study indicated that the purposeful culling of sows on this farm was within the targeted range. However, the incidence of reproductive disorders was too high and required further investigations.

Characterization of Removal Reasons for Nurse Sows and the Associated Removal Due to Their Extended Lactation Length in Hyperprolific Farrow-Wean Herds

“…Reproductive failure (RF) is an unplanned sow removal, and Boripun et al [ 37 ] recently recommended the need to further investigate this RF removal. The study found that did not conceive was the major cause of RF removal at 30.7% (11,638/37,852).…”

“…Frequency (number and percentage) of different causes of reproductive failure per parity of nurse sows(37,852). Chi-square test χ 2 = 352.480; df = 25; p < 0.001; Contingency Coefficient: 0.096.…”