Research Article

The influence of the intensity of the growth of gilts on the reproduction performance in first farrow

Bogdan Szostak

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 10(4), 2011, 141‒148

Abstract. The objective of the research was to estimate the influence of the intensity of the growth of Polish Landrace gilts on the fertilization effectiveness, farrow leveling and the number of born and reared pigs in the first farrow. The division of animals into groups was made on the basis of day growth from birth to the moment of the evaluation of the fattening features in a group of gilts aged 150–210 days. Five groups of gilts were distinguished. The first group comprised gilts gaining daily from 500 to 550 grams, the second group – from 551 to 600 grams, the third group – from 601 to 650 grams, the fourth – from 651 to 700 grams, and the fifth group – from 701 to 750 grams. The group of gilts gaining daily from 501 to 550 grams was characterized by the highest percentage of fertilization (79.6%), the group of gilts with the highest rate of growth (from 651 to 700 grams) was characterized by the lowest percentage of fertilization (65.7%). The youngest to farrow were the gilts with the highest rate of growth (from 651 to 700 grams), differing significantly from the gilts from group I, gaining from 450 to 500 grams. The number of pigs at birth and in the twenty-first day of life was substantially higher in primiparous gilts with the rate of growth from 450 to 500 grams and from 501 to 550 grams, in comparison to the gilts with the highest rate of growth.

Keywords: gilts, intensity of the growth, reproductive performance