Adaptability and reproductive qualities of sows and indicators of their blood by keeping in machines with advanced elements
The period of pregnancy and farrowing of sows and their maintenance with suckling piglets is one of the key stages of industrial pig breeding, as it is proved that productive and reproductive qualities of pigs are largely determined by the intensity of growth and development in the early stages of...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Publishing House of the Institute of Agriculture of the Carpathian Region of NAAS
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Передгірне та гірське землеробство і тваринництво |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.isgkr.science/index.php/phzt/article/view/287 |
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| Summary: | The period of pregnancy and farrowing of sows and their maintenance with suckling piglets is one of the key stages of industrial pig breeding, as it is proved that productive and reproductive qualities of pigs are largely determined by the intensity of growth and development in the early stages of their lives. To solve these problems, it is extremely important both in theoretical and practical terms to study the adaptive and reproductive ability of sows and the safety of piglets by their keeping in machines with advanced elements and machines of mass production.
It is known that a pregnant sow stays in the machine for 3‒5 days before farrowing, and after 21–35 days and more, which necessitates the improvement of conditions for their keeping. After monitoring the existing equipment for farrowing and keeping suckling sows, it was found that the improvement of individual elements of the machines can significantly optimize the physiological and hygienic conditions of their maintenance and increase the comfort for newborn piglets. Therefore, we have proposed a device for the removable side wall of the machine to increase the space for the sow's exercise, as well as to activate her game behavior with the offspring. The device consists of the following main parts: the upper and lower fastenings of the side wall to the base of the machine, as well as two S-shaped structures made of stainless steel with a diameter of 6 mm. Using the device is possible in two ways.
For optimal access of piglets to the sow’s nipples, it is proposed to increase the floor at the place where the sow is by 1-3 cm. Raising the space under the sow provides piglets with better access to the lower row of nipples, so that they are freely located around the sow. And since the place is raised directly only under the sow, piglets can freely move around the "mother's" front and back. The lifting structure is made from hard-alloy plastic or hard rubber 2 cm thick, 60 cm wide and 80-120 cm long. It is fastened to the machine base using self-tapping screws if the base is plastic or expansion bolts, if the base is made from grating concrete.
Based on the selected individual structural elements of the machines for lactating sows, the improvement of which optimally ensures their biological characteristics of keeping, an experimental model of the machine for keeping lactating sows and piglets was made.
Assessment of the adaptive and reproductive ability of sows and the study of the cellular component of natural immunity was carried out based on the results of farrowing in the spring and summer. It was found that keeping sows with offspring in machines with advanced elements increases their adaptability by the index of breeding value (CPI) by 39.0 points (8.1 %), the index of adaptation (IA) - by 1.2 points (4.7 %). In sows kept in machines with advanced elements compared to animals in series-produced machines, milk yield was higher by 4.9 kg (7.3 %), live weight of the nest at weaning – by 7.9 kg (9.8 %, P <0.05), and the safety of piglets by 1.0 %. At the same time, the number of leukocytes, phagocytic activity of neutrophils, phagocytic index and phagocytic number in these sows increased by 1.9, 1.4, 2.9 and 4.8% respectively.
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| ISSN: | 0130-8521 2786-5231 |