The Rural Voice, 1987-09, Page 51ADVICE
SELECTING AND
NURTURING GILTS
Different pork producers place dif-
ferent emphasis on the criteria for se-
lecting replacement gilts, but all want a
gilt that will produce large healthy litters
for at least six or seven litters.
Most gilts are selected from the fin-
ishing barn. Since the market demands
a lean carcass, many gilts enter the
breeding herd with inadequate reserves
of fat. Many of these gilts produce an
exceptional first litter followed by a
very poor second litter simply because
fat reserves are depleted during the first
lactation. Some of this fat Toss will be
regained during the second pregnancy,
but a good part of it will never be recov-
ered.
A study carried out in the United
Kingdom showed that gilts with 18 mm
of backfat at breeding and fed a conven-
tional diet gained48.4 pounds from first
breeding to the weaning of the second
litter. But these same gilts lost 7.4 mm
of backfat. If the same rate of fat loss
continued after the second litter, the
sows would have used up their fat re-
serves by the end of the fourth litter! On
average, sows will take off 4 mm during
lactation (5 or 6 mm during first and
second lactations) and replace only 3
mm during the next pregnancy.
What can be done to encourage a
long and trouble-free reproductive life?
Do not select excessively lean gilts
as herd replacements — sacrifice a few
mm of backfat.
Treat gilts as gilts, not as market
hogs (how you feed a gilt has a large
effect on how she will perform as a sow).
Remember that it is easier to mini-
mize fat loss during lactation than to put
it back on during pregnancy.
Condition -score sows. Condition is
the amount of fat reserve available.
Although it is difficult to see with the
eye, it can be felt. Feed according to
condition to maintain fat cover.
Design a feeding program aimed at
increasing and maintaining fat reserve
throughout the sow's reproductive life.
Ensure that enough clean water is avail-
able and that the farrowing room tem-
perature is not too high for the sow.0
Cathy Scott
Peel OMAF Swine Specialist
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SEPTEMBER 1987 49