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H. S. Park, S. H. Oh, 064 Factors Affecting Growth of Berkshire Pigs in Alternative Production Systems, Journal of Animal Science, Volume 95, Issue suppl_1, December 2016, Page 32, https://doi.org/10.2527/ssasas2017.064
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Abstract
The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of farrowing month (FM), parity and sex on the growth performance of Berkshire swine raised in alternative production systems. A total of 40 farrowing records from 27 sows and 1,258 body weight (BW) records from 274 piglets collected over a two-year period were used for the analysis. Body weights were recorded at birth, weaning (28 d), 56, 84, 112 and 140 days. Any BW not recorded on schedule was recalculated to conform the days of age among corresponding BW records, using growth curves drawn with polynomial functions whose power was determined by the number of existing observations for each individual. The mean parity (± SD) of the sows was 3.42 ± 2.14. The highest average number of pigs born alive and number of pigs weaned were found in the fall, specifically September and October. The lowest average number of pigs born alive and number of pigs weaned were found in the late spring and summer from May to July. Farrowing month did not affect birth and wean weights, but affected BW measured on 56, 84, 112 and 140 days of age. However, piglets farrowed in June had noticeably higher birth weight and continued to have the highest average BW until 140 day of age, except on 112 day of age. On 112 day of age, there was no significant difference between the BW of piglets farrowed in June and that of piglets farrowed in October. Piglets farrowed in October had the lowest birth weight due to the sow heat stress during gestation. However, rearing in the fall and finishing in the winter allowed for superior growth performance for piglets farrowed in October. Nonetheless, best month for farrowing was found to be June according to the highest birth and finishing weights. Taking into account both the reproductive performance of the sows and the growth performance of the piglets affected by season, the fall months result in the best productivity. Parity and sex did not have an effect on the growth performance of the piglets.
