Sow removal in a commercial pig herd in Zimbabwe

Abstract

A study was carried out at a 2,200 sow farrow-finisher facility in Zimbabwe to determine the main reasons for sow removal and the season when removal was most common. Data on the number of sows culled and the reasons for culling as well as mortalities was recorded weekly for a 12-month period. The culling frequency was 52.8 % (n = 1 162). Descriptive statistics indicated that reproductive problems accounted for 70.8 % (n = 823) of sow removals, death (15.6 %, n = 181), lameness (4.6 %, n = 53), miscellaneous (2.5 %, n = 29), production (2.2 %, n = 26), peripartum (2.2 %, n = 25) and age (2.2 %, n = 25). The results also showed that culling was highest in gilts and primiparous sows (41.3 %, n = 480) with the least culling being observed in sows in parity 7 (5.3 %, n = 61). The hot wet season was observed to be the one when culling was most common (33.5 %, n = 389) with the least being in the cold dry season (17 %, n = 198). It was concluded that most of the sow removal was unplanned. There is a need to improve replacement gilt selection, reproductive efficiency, health and nutrition management to increase productivity in a sow unit.

An Analysis of Culling Patterns during the Breeding Cycle and Lifetime Production from the Aspect of Culling Reasons for Gilts and Sows in Southwest China

“…However, the average parity of unplanned culls was 2.27 in southwest China, lower than that in other counties [6,11,17,18]. This was mainly due to more gilts and sows being culled at low parities (1 and 2; totally 62.76%), which is broadly in line with other studies [19,20,21]. Further analysis revealed that LA and NP were the most prevalent reasons for parity 1 and 2 culls besides CD and RS, respectively.…”

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

“…A sow whose lactation is extended falls behind in days within her current lactating group, possibly interfering with her lactation interval. Nevertheless, the results of this study indicate that such removal by old age was significant ( p < 0.001) in older parities P4, P5, and P6, in agreement with [ 28 , 29 , 30 ] studies. It should also be noted that the sows in this study were designed to be culled at P6, in line with company policy.…”

“…No heat was the second most common cause of RF removal at 23.0% (8724/37,852). The findings in this study corroborate findings of failure to express heat as the second most common cause of RF reported by other authors as follows: 27.0% (723/2680) by Lucia et al [24], 25.2% (482/1913) by Koketsu et al [38] and 29.7% (244/823) by Masaka et al [29]. No heat significantly (χ 2 = 352.480, p < 0.001) affected P1 and P5 nurse sows.…”

Reasons for Culling in Relation to Longevity and Lifetime Efficiency of Landrace and Large White Sows in a Nucleus Breeding Farm in the Philippines

“…The information should also be used in developing better management strategies to avoid unplanned culling, extend the productive life of sows, and hence, improve the production efficiency of the local nucleus breeding farm. Examples of farm strategies that may increase longevity and lifetime efficiency of sows include allowing reserviced sows and multiple mating (Sasaki & Koketsu, 2008), effective selection of the most fertile gilts for entry to the breeding herd (Patterson & Foxcroft, 2019), histopathological and macroscopical examinations related to reproductive failures in culled sows (de Jong et al, 2014), reproductive management in different seasons (Segura-Correa et al, 2011 andMasaka et al, 2014), floor cleanliness and wetness, ammonia levels, stocking rate to reduce the risk of leg disorders (Cador et al, 2014), nutrition strategies and cooling systems to reduce heat stress (Zhao et al, 2015), advanced cooling equipment to reduce heat stress (Tani & Koketsu, 2017), and optimal breeding age of gilts at 233 -253 days (Malanda et al, 2019).…”