Factors Affecting Reproductive Efficiency of the Breeding Herd

Abstract

The great variation that exists in the productivity of sow herds is well illustrated by a Danish survey based on a large number of commercial breeding herds where the number of piglets weaned/sow/year ranged from 10 to 22 (Aagaard and Studstrup, 1977). The financial consequences are clearly demonstrated in Figure 25.1 where overall profitability of the breeding unit rises as the number of pigs weaned/sow/year increases. It is impossible to make a general assessment of financial implications of reproductive efficiency for various countries but such a trend is general. In herds producing small numbers of pigs/sow/year there are often many unproductive sows with the attendant penalties of extra feed, labour and