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The influence of the size of the pig farm on the realization of the reproductive qualities of sows of danish breeding

The article studied the influence of the size of the pig farm on the realization of the genetic potential of Danish breeding pigs and the dependence of the intensity of sow use on farms of different capacity in the western part of the Jylland peninsula of the Kingdom of Denmark. It was established that with an increase in the average annual number of sows on a pig farm, their reproductive qualities improved. They were highest in sows at large enterprises, where their number exceeded 1500 heads. Sows on these pig farms had 1.6–3.5% better fertility, 3.2–5.5% better number of piglets at weaning, 0.5–3.8% better number of piglets born per farrowing unit and by 2.4–6.5% the number of weaned piglets per unit, 1.6–1.8% better preservation of piglets before weaning and 1.6–8.0% shorter duration of the suckling period. At the same time, the sows of this group, with almost identical average daily gains, had 0.5–8.1% lower absolute gains, 3.6–6.9% lower individual weight of piglets at weaning compared to groups of enterprises where the average annual number of sows was up to 1500 heads. Whereas no clear pattern has been established for piglet nest weight at this time. According to the complex indexes of reproductive efciency of sows, their growth was established with an increase in the average annual number of sows at the enterprise. These indices were also the highest in sows in the group of enterprises with an average number of more than 1,500 heads. They prevailed according to the comprehensive indicators of animals with a number of up to 500 sows by 3.9–4.2%, with their average annual number from 500 to 1000 by 2.7–3.7% and by 1.8–2.3% of their analogues with the number of animals from 1001 to 1500 heads. It was proved that with the growth of the size of the pig farm, the annual percentage of frst farrowing sows in the herd decreased by 1.6-4.0%, the proportion of sows that farrowed relatively inseminated increased by 0.2–3.1%, the average annual number of farrowings per sow increased by 1.0–3.1%, and the number of piglets weaned per year increased by 2.5–7.6%. At the same time, there is no clear trend has been established for the number of unproductive days per sow per year, the interval from weaning to insemination, and the proportion of dead sows. It was determined that the size of the farm probably had a 16.5 % effect on the sow's fertility, a 17.1 % effect on the number of piglets at weaning, and a 14.0 % effect on the weight of 1 piglet at weaning. The factor of the duration of the suckling period had a signifcant effect of 10.12 % on the weight of one piglet at weaning and 6.91 % on the weight of the piglet nest during this period, and did not affect the safety of piglets to weaning, while multiplicity and its interaction with the duration of lactation had no signifcant effect on these traits.

Key words: sow, Danish breeding, genetic potential, farm size, reproductive productivity, intensity of use, genotype effect.

VOSHCHENKO I. https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2745-3900


POVOD M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2470-4921


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BTF №1 2024