Lifetime reproductive performance and survival of English Berkshire female pigs raised in commercial herds in subtropical Japan

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production Vol. 47; no. 2; pp. 479 - 482
• Main Authors: Usui, Shiho, Koketsu, Yuzo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer-Verlag 01.02.2015; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: animal health; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Breeding; breeds; crossbreds; Female; Females; Fertility; gilts; herds; Japan; Life Sciences; Meat; Pregnancy; probability; puberty; Reproduction; Reproduction - physiology; reproductive performance; Short Communications; subtropics; Survival; Swine; Swine - physiology; Tropical Climate; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology; Japan; Survival analysis; Berkshire pigs; Swine; Reproductive performance
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-014-0739-6

The objective of the present study was to compare lifetime reproductive performance and survival probability of English Berkshire female pigs and crossbred females in a subtropical region of Japan. We analyzed records of 20,417 females entered into the 12 herds in Southern Japan from 2003 to 2007. Generalized linear mixed-effects models were conducted to compare the lifetime reproductive performance of the Berkshire and crossbred females. Multilevel mixed-effects models were conducted to compare the lifetime reproductive performance of the Berkshire and crossbred females. Also, a multilevel proportional hazard model was used to examine the survival probabilities for the two breeds. Berkshire gilts were 39.8 days older at first-mating than crossbred gilts (P = 0.05). The pigs born alive (PBA) in Berkshire and crossbred gilts increased from 5.8 to 6.9 pigs and from 10.7 to 11.1 pigs, respectively, as age at first-mating increased from 220 to 310 days old (P < 0.05). More Berkshire gilts were culled for reproductive failure than crossbred gilts (7.5 vs. 3.8 %; P < 0.05). Also, Berkshire females had 2.7 lower parity at removal, 224.4 days lower reproductive herd-life, and 4.2 pigs fewer average lifetime PBA than crossbred females (P < 0.05) and tended to have a lower survival probability (P = 0.05). In summary, Berkshire females had later puberty, were more sensitive to age at first-mating for increasing PBA, and had lower fertility and a lower survival probability than crossbred females in commercial herds.