• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제62권2호
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• pp.218-226
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• 2020

The present study investigated the effects of loose farrowing type during gestation and after farrowing on reproductive performance and of lactating sows. A total of 22 primiparous sows (Landrace; average initial body weights [BW], 228.54 ± 12.79 kg) were allotted to one of two treatments on the basis of body weight. Sows were divided into two experimental groups, conventional farrowing crates (CON), and loosed-farrowing pens (LFP). The experiment duration was around 38 days ranging from 10 days before parturition to 28 days after parturition. Gestating sows at the age of 105 d were placed in gestational stalls (group housing). All the sows were fed a common diet according to the National Research Council requirements for lactation. Cross-fostering was performed within 1 day of parturition. From 1 day after weaning, estrus detection was performed twice-daily (0900 and 1730 h) for 10 min by boar exposure. There were significant effects of LFP housing type on the farrowing duration, and farrowing interval. At the farrowing time, none of the litter parameters including total born, stillborn, mummy, born alive piglets and total litter weight and piglet weight were affected. There were no effects of housing type on the mortality of piglets at d 1, 3, 7, 21, and 28. In conclusion, the result of this study showed that there is no performance difference between the crated or LFP sows, which indicate that the LFP housing has the potential to be used as an alternative to the crated house without any detrimental effects in reproduction performance of lactating sows.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제64권1호
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• pp.10-22
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• 2022

We studied the effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 (LSB) supplemented to lactating sows on reproductive traits and farrowing duration and to piglets from day 7 of life on post-weaning performance and IgG concentration. Ninety-six Landrace × Yorkshire sows started the trial 5 days before the expected farrowing date. Sows were distributed into 2 groups according to parity number and backfat thickness: control (CON: regular lactation diet) and LSB (CON + LSB at 2 × 10⁹ colony forming units [CFU]/kg of feed). Seven days after birth, litters were randomly selected from each group and supplemented creep feed with or without LSB at 2 × 10⁹ CFU/kg. At weaning, piglets from CON sows were shifted to a commercial farm and allocated to 14 pens in groups of 25 piglets/pen according to the creep feed supplemented during lactation. Piglets followed a 3-phase feeding program: creep, pre-starter and starter, with or without LSB at 2 × 10⁹ CFU/kg LSB in creep and pre-starter, and 1 × 10⁹ CFU/kg LSB in starter. The piglets were vaccinated against classical swine fever on days 41 and 72 of life. One day before each vaccination and at the end of the trial, blood samples were collected from 15 randomly selected piglets per treatment and assessed for total IgG. Supplemented sows with non-supplemented litters displayed the lowest backfat thickness loss during lactation (p < 0.05). The LSB supplementation shortened farrowing duration (p < 0.05) and increased feed intake (p < 0.05) during the first week of lactation. The LSB-fed piglets were heavier at the end of creep (p < 0.05), pre-starter (p < 0.05), and the trial (p < 0.05); grew faster during creep (p < 0.05), starter (p < 0.05), and overall (p < 0.05); and displayed an improved feed conversion ratio during creep (p < 0.05). Total IgG content was higher at days 40 (p < 0.05) and 71 (p < 0.05) in LSB-fed piglets. We conclude that supplementing sows with Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 from late gestation until weaning shortens farrowing duration, increases feed intake, and minimizes backfat losses during lactation. When supplemented to piglet diet, post-weaning performance is improved. This improvement observed could be linked to a better immune status, as suggested by the higher IgG.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제37권1호
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• pp.39-49
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• 2024

Objective: The present study was performed to determine risk factors associated with the frequency of farrowing assistance in hyperprolific sows in a tropical environment and to investigate the impacts of farrowing assistance on piglet colostrum consumption and sow colostrum yield. Methods: Farrowing data from 352 Landrace×Yorkshire crossbred sows and 5,554 piglets in five commercial swine herds in Thailand were investigated. The sows were classified according to parity numbers: 1 (n = 72), 2 to 4 (n = 128), 5 to 6 (n = 84), and ≥7 (n = 68) and the total number of piglets born per litter (TB): 10 to 13 (n = 90), 14 to 16 (n = 117), and ≥17 (n = 145). The incidence of farrowing assistance and associated parameters were investigated. Results: The TB and farrowing duration averaged 15.8±0.2 and 279.9±11.2 min, respectively. The percentage of sows that required farrowing assistance was 29.8% and varied among herds from 5.7% to 53.3% (p<0.001). The percentage of piglets born after birth assistance using manual intervention was 8.4%. Sows with parity numbers 1 and 2 to 4 had a lower frequency of farrowing assistance than sows with parity numbers ≥7 (p<0.01). The colostrum yield of sows that required farrowing assistance did not differ from sows that farrowed without assistance (5.3±0.2 and 5.1±0.1 kg; p = 0.288); however, the colostrum consumption of piglets born from sows that required farrowing assistance was lower than those born from sows that farrowed without assistance (302.2±15.7 and 354.2±5.6 g; p<0.001). Blood oxygen saturation of the piglets born after birth assistance tended to be lower than the piglets that farrowed without birth assistance (87.8%±1.3% vs 90.4%±0.4%; p = 0.054). Conclusion: The frequency of farrowing assistance in sows varied among herds and was influenced by parity number. The piglets born after receiving birth assistance should receive special care to improve their blood oxygen saturation and enhance colostrum intake.

• 한국가축번식학회지
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.42-49
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• 1979

This experiment was carried out to clarify the practical use of farrowing induction with PGF2$\alpha$ in swine production. Total 320 heads of pregnant sow were used and the effects of administration time, dosage, administration method of PGF2$\alpha$ and parity of sow on the farrowing induction were investigated. The results obtained in this experiment were summarized as following: 1. Total 228 heads out of 240 head which were treated with PGF2$\alpha$ in order to farrow artificially were farrowed normally. the rate of farrowing induction was 95%. 2. Several farrowing symptoms such as restlessness, bloody eye, udder swelling, milk discharge and nest building for piglets were observed in a few minutes after administration of PGF2$\alpha$. 3. Artifical parturition of sow treated with PGF2 at the 113rd, 112nd, 111st, 110th and 109th day of pregnancy were induced 17.0$\pm$7.3, 24.2$\pm$7.0, 31.3$\pm$14.7, 43.0$\pm$12.2 and 62.2$\pm$15.7 hours after administration, and the duration of pregnancy was significantly (P<0.01) shortened by PGF2$\alpha$ anministration. 4. Minimum amount of PGF2$\alpha$ per head for effective farrowing inductin was considered to be more than 5mg, and the more the amount, the shorter time needed for farrowing induction was resulted. 5. Effective farrowing induction was obtained from the sow treated with PGF2$\alpha$ via vulvomucous rather than from the sow treated via intromuscular, and intervals from PGF2$\alpha$ administration to farrowing in 4th-6th farrowed sows were shorter than those of 1st-3rd farrowed sows but no significant difference was observed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제28권11호
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• pp.1519-1524
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• 2015

It is well known that prepartum sows have an innate motivation to build a nest before parturition. Under commercial conditions, however, the farrowing crate, which is widely used in modern pig husbandry, inhibits this innate behaviour through the lack of space, materials, or both. Thus, restriction of nest-building behaviour could generate increased stress, resulting in a decrease in maternal endogenous hormones. Hence, it could lead to detrimental effects on farrowing and lactating performance. Here we review interactions between prepartum nest-building behaviour, stress and maternal endogenous hormone levels, and discuss their effects on parturition, lactation, and welfare of sows and offspring.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제61권3호
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• pp.147-153
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• 2019

A goal for swine farming is the improvement in the number of live-born and weaned piglets per sow. Hence, the effect of parities should consider the correlation between the component traits of reproductive performance, weaning, and duration. Sows were housed in farrowing pens (W 2.2 ${\times}$ D 1.8 ${\times}$ H 1.2 m) on a partially slatted plastic floor. Twenty sows used in this study were between the first and sixth parity in gilts (P1), parity 2-5 (P3), and parity 6-9 (P6). Data collection by parity was classified into three categories: (1) reproduction performance (gestation length, total number of piglets born, number of piglets live born, number of piglets stillborn, total piglet birth weight; (2) weaning traits (weaning period, number of piglets weaning, total piglets weaning weight); (3) duration traits (farrowing duration, placenta expulsion duration, time from last piglet to first placenta, average birth interval, and tail wagging behavior). Gestation length was higher in P6 than P1 and P3 of different parity sows. The maximum value in P1 and P3 was 117 days, but the median value in P6 was 117 days (p < 0.05). The total number of piglets born (p = 0.113), number of piglets live born (p = 0.118), number of still piglets born (p = 0.151), and total piglet birth weight (p = 0.117) were not affected by parity. The number of live piglets was higher than the other parities by an average of $15.6{\pm}2.1$ in P1. The duration of farrowing was the lowest at 22.2 min in P6, but the maximum value was 42.2 min more than other parities (p = 0.355). Weaning traits of sows also did not differ significantly (p > 0.05), but the weaning period from P1 was lower than that of the other parities (p = 0.170). The number of piglets weaned was 10 heads on average in P1, P3, and P6 (p < 0.05). However, the mean values of the total piglet weaning weight (p = 0.377) of P6 (62.0 10.4 kg) were higher than those of P1 (54.9 10.2 kg) and P3 (58.4 13.6 kg). The placenta expulsion duration was higher in P6 than that in P1 and P3 (p = 0.447). The time from the last piglet to first placenta was be lower in P3 than that of the other parities (p = 0.206). The average birth interval was higher in P3 than that of the other parities (p = 0.156). Tail wagging (count) behavior was higher in P6 than in the other parities (p = 0.065). The data showed that the reproduction performance, total piglets born, and weight were higher in the gilts group, and higher in the weaning trait than that in the P6 group. This study examined the relationship between reproductive performance, birth interval and tail motion according to sow parity. Regarding duration, farrowing duration was lower in P6 than that in the other parities, but placenta expulsion and tail wagging were higher in P6 than in the other parities. Therefore, it is possible that the results from these sows could be used as basic data for effective farm management.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제37권5호
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• pp.862-874
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• 2024

Objective: This study evaluated the effect of Andrographis paniculata (A. paniculata) supplementation in sow diets before and after farrowing on the sow and piglets' performances during early postpartum period and on sows' backfat and longissimus muscle losses during lactation. Methods: Seventy Landrace×Yorkshire sows and their offspring (1,186 piglets) were distributed into three groups: control (n = 31), treatment-250 (n = 18), and treatment-1000 (n = 21). From 110.2±0.7 days of gestation until farrowing (5.8 days) and throughout the lactation period (25.2 days), sows in the control group were given the conventional lactation diet, while sows in the treatment-250 and treatment-1000 groups received supplements of 250 ppm and 1,000 ppm of A. paniculata, respectively. Results: In sows with parity 3-5, piglets from the treatment-1000 group had higher colostrum intake than the control and treatment-250 groups (p<0.05), but not in sows with parity 6-9. Colostrum immunoglobulin G (IgG) increased in treated sows versus controls for parity 6-9 (p<0.05), but was consistent for parity 3-5. Piglet performance until day 3 postnatal was similar across groups (p>0.05). Treatment-250 sows had higher feed intake post-farrowing than treatment-1000 sows (p<0.05). Longissimus loss was less in both treatment groups than control (p<0.05), but backfat loss was similar across groups (p>0.05). Post-partum complications were consistent across groups (p>0.05). Farrowing duration and piglet birth intervals in sows with parity 6-9 were prolonged in the treatment-1000 group. Conclusion: Supplementing with 1,000 ppm A. paniculata for 5.8 days pre-farrowing and 25.2 days post-farrowing enhanced sow colostrum IgG and piglet colostrum intake, while also reducing longissimus loss in sows. However, for sows of parity 6-9, this supplementation led to prolonged farrowing, increased intervals between piglet births, increased stillbirth, and reduced piglet birth weight. These effects should be considered when using A. paniculata supplementation.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제45권6호
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• pp.1067-1078
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• 2003

산차가 다른 임신모돈의 임신기간 동안 스톨수용과 군사수용이 임신, 분만 및 비유기간 중 모돈의 행동패턴과 이상반복행동 및 분만성적에 미치는 영향을 조사하기 위하여 총 18두의 듀록(Duroc)종 모돈을 산차별로 1산차, 2${\sim}$3산차 및 4${\sim}$5산차 각각 3두씩 배치하여 임신초기 4주간은 스톨에 수용 후 각각 스톨과 군사돈방에 수용하였고, 분만예정일 7일전에 분만돈방으로 옮겼으며 21일간 포유로 수행하여 얻은 성적은 다음과 같다. 임신기간 동안의 모돈 행동패턴과 이상반복행동은 임신 60일과 90일 경과 시점에 24시간 동안, 분만당일 모돈 행동은 분만 2시간 전부터 후산이 배출되는 시점까지 약 6시간 동안, 비유기간 동안의 모돈 행동은 분만 10일 후, 2시간 반 동안 조사하였다. 또한 임신기간 동안 군사수용과 스톨수용 모돈의 분만성적을 비교하였다. 임신기간 동안 군사수용과 스톨수용 모돈의 행동은 옆으로 누워(ventral lying)있는 시간 비율이 양쪽 모두 가장 높았고, 산차에 따라서는 초산 모돈(71.3%)이 가장 높았다. 걷는(walking) 동작은 스톨수용 보다 군사수용이 월등히 높게 나타났고(8.68% 대 16.38%, SE=1.74; P<0.01), 산차 간에는 초산 모돈이 가장 낮았다. 마시는 (drinking) 동작으로 보낸 시간 비율은 군사수용 보다 스톨수용(0.27% 대 1.99%, SE=0.28)이 월등히 높게 나타났다(P<0.01). 임신기간 동안 나타내는 이상반복행동 발현수는 헛 씹기(vacuum chewing)가 스톨수용 임신 60일 경과시 가장 높았고, 산차와 임신일 간의 상호작용에서는 4${\sim}$5산차 임신돈의 임신 60일 경과가 높았다(P<0.05). 코로 바닥 문지르기(floor snout rubbing)는 수용형태${\times}$산차의 상호작용이 나타났으며, 군사 1산차가 가장 높게 나타났다(P<0.05). 바닥 핥기(floor licking)는 임신 90일이 높았고(P<0.01), 수용형태$\times$임신일의 상호작용에서는 군사 90일이 높게 나타났다. 머리 흔들기(head waving)은 임신 60일이 높게 나타났으며, 쇠 핥기(bar licking)는 임신 90일이 높게 나타났다(P<0.05). 총 이상행동의 발현수는 스톨수용과 군사수용 간에 차이가 나타나지 않았다. 분만돈의 행동패턴은 앉아 있는 자세와 먹는 자세로 보낸 시간 비율만 유의적인 차이를 나타내었고, 앉아 있는 자세에서는 스톨수용 1산차(3.7%)와 군사수용 2${\sim}$3산차(2.7%)가 다른 산차 보다 높게 나타났다. 먹는 자세로 보낸 시간 비율은 군사 2${\sim}$3산차 만이 낮게 나타났다. 비유모돈의 행동패턴은 임신기간 동안 군사수용 1산차 모돈의 옆으로 누워 있는(ventral lying) 시간 비율이 높았고, 마시는(drinking) 동작은 임신기간 동안 스톨 수용 모돈이 높았으며, 특히 초산 모돈이 다른 산차의 모돈에 비하여 많은 시간을 물먹는데 소비하는 것으로 나타났다. 이상의 결과를 종합해 보면, 임신기간 동안 수용형태에 따른 임신돈의 임신기간 동안의 행동패턴과 이상반복행동 발현수의 차이는 나타나지 않았으나, 비유모돈의 행동패턴과 이상반복행동 발현에 대한 결과는 군사수용 모돈이 보다 좋은 복지 상태에 있다는 것을 나타내고 있다. 또한 분만성적이 임신기간 동안 스톨수용과 군사수용 간에 차이를 나타내지 않았다. 따라서 모돈의 보다 많은 정상행동을 보장하고 복지상태를 개선하기 위해서는 임신돈의 군사수용은 스톨수용을 대체할 사양체계로서 그 가능성은 충분하며, 실제 적용을 위한 보다 진전된 연구가 필요한 것으로 사료된다.

• 농업과학연구
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.254-260
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• 2017

The primary goals of this research were to evaluate the impact of diet supplemented with 25-hydroxyvitamin $D_3$ ($Hy{\cdot}D(R)$) on sow's body condition and reproduction performance. A total of sixteen multiparous sows [(Landrace ${\times}$ Yorkshire), average parity = $3.79{\pm}0.32$] and their litters were randomly allotted to 2 treatments to give 8 replicates per treatment. Diet treatments were randomized to receive a non-active (ND) or active 25-hydroxyvitamin $D_3$ (AD) diet (0.36 mg cholecalciferol/g) during pregnancy. The results of this experiment were observed at the gestation of d 58 - 75, d 76 - 95, d 96 - 110, and d 111 - 115. A corn-soybean meal-based diet was formulated to meet or exceed the nutrient requirements recommended by NRC (2012). Results indicated that the sows' farrowing duration was shortened (4.71, 5.38 h), and the average number of mummified fetuses decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in AD treatment compared with ND treatment (0.1, 0.5) while birth weight was significantly (p < 0.05) improved (1.44, 1.18 kg). There were no significant effects on body weight, backfat thickness, and fecal score during the gestation of sows in different phases (p > 0.05). And the total birth, stillbirth, live birth, and survival rates of the litter did not change (p > 0.05). The results of this study suggest that the farrowing duration of sow pigs will be shortened and the number of mummies will be decreased while their litters' body weight may be improved, if fed active 25-hydroxyvitamin $D_3$ (0.36 mg/g) during pregnancy phase.

• 한국수정란이식학회지
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.305-311
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• 2014

It is imperative to know the reproductive parameters of the existing swine breed for profitable farming in Bangladesh. This study was designed to determine the reproductive parameters of sows at hilly areas. A total of 245 pigs with 47 breedable sows were included. The data on age at puberty, oestrous cycle length, oestrus duration, gestation length, interval between furrowing and onset of oestrus, first service pregnancy rate, service per pregnancy and number of piglets born per sow in local and cross bred sows were determined. The present study revealed that age at puberty of local and cross breed sows was $232.5{\pm}8.4$, $221.3{\pm}6.9$ days, respectively. Oestrous duration was $41.1{\pm}3.1$ hours. The interval between furrowing and onset of oestrus was shorter in cross bred sows. There was no variation in values of oestrus cycle length and gestation length. The first service pregnancy rate was higher in both the local and cross bred sow. Number of piglets per sow per farrowing was $6.1{\pm}2.2$ and 60.9% local sows gave birth of 3 to 5 piglets per farrowing whereas 75.0% cross bred sows gave birth of 6 to 9 piglets. These results suggest that reproductive parameters of local sow need to be improved for better production, and cross bred sows should be reared for obtaining expected productivity.