Mating for reproductive success
DanBred breeding animals are exceptional when it comes to reproductive performance. Strict compliance to best practice insemination on-farm will release the DanBred potential for reaching uncompromised lifetime production and world-class productivity along the entire production chain. Trials show that careful attention to heat detection, heat stimulation, timing of insemination and the insemination technique have a significant impact on reproductive success (Sørensen, 2009).
Insemination for improved fertility
Figure 1: Adjust timing of insemination according to expected length of heat
At the point of insemination, the achievement of improved fertility and maximised farrowing rates rely on some key success factors: timing, stimulation and frequency of insemination. The first day the sow shows standing heat is the first day of oestrus. Oestrus is defined as the period during which the gilts and sows are receptive to the boar, ovulating and capable of conceiving. Reproductive performance can be increased if standing heat is used as guideline for timing of mating (Flowers 1996). In practice, this means that a sow which shows standing heat shortly after weaning will generally ovulate relatively late. Conversely, sows that show heat 6 days or more after weaning can ovulate shortly after standing heat (Nissen et.al., 1997). Trials have shown that structured human stimulation before insemination resulted in an increased farrowing rate of 6%, compared to sows where none or only a limited amount of stimulation was performed. The stimulation impacts the release of oxytocin, which helps contractions in the muscle cells of the uterus, creating an efficient boost of semen transport into the uterine horns (Madsen et. al. 2001). Frequency has showed important as inseminating twice per heat will give an extra 0.5 total born per litter (Hedeboe, 2006). Furthermore, significantly more gilts will conceive if the surroundings are calm upon mating (Fisker, 2003).