Effects of exogenous gonadotropins on reproductive performance of gilts

Abstract

Gonadotropin products are available for inducing estrus of gilts. A concern is a potential negative effect of the estrus inducer on the farrowing performance. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of an estrus-inducing agent on gilt productivity at a commercial farm. A total of 60 gilts that had not shown estrus for more than 14 days were treated with an estrus inducer. Among these gilts, 51 exhibited estrus and underwent artificial insemination. Additionally, 64 gilts naturally went into estrus and were also artificially inseminated during the same period. The pregnancy rates for the natural estrus group and the estrus inducer treatment group were 93.7% and 92.2%, respectively, showing no difference. Furthermore, there were no significant differences observed in farrowing performance between the two groups, including total litter size (11.5 vs. 11.4), stillbirths (0.38 vs. 0.42), fostering piglets (11.1 vs. 11.1), and the number of weaned piglets (10.9 vs. 10.7). Wean-to-estrus interval also did not differ between the two groups. Taken together, we failed to find any detrimental effects of estrus inducers on the reproductive performance of gilts.