An assessment of reproductive and lifetime performances of Kagoshima Berkshire gilts and sows

We investigated the reproductive and lifetime performances of Kagoshima Berkshire gilts and sows. We examined 20605 parity records of 4419 pigs for 2008 to 2012 on a farrow-to-finish commercial farm. The mean parity (±SD) of all animals was 3.0±2.1. For farrowing performance, the highest numbers of total pigs born and pigs born alive were found in sows with parities 5 and 6 and with parity 3-6, respectively (P<0.05). Regarding weaning and mating performance, sows with parity 2 had the lowest preweaning mortality (P<0.05). The longest weaning-to-first-mating interval was found in parity 1 pigs, and the interval decreased as parity increased (P<0.05). Parities 0 and 1 pigs had the lowest farrowing rate and those with parity 4 had the highest farrowing rate (P<0.05). The mean parity at culling, total number of pigs born alive in a lifetime, and nonproductive days in a lifetime were 5.5±2.93, 49.2±24.72 pigs, and 132.1±83.34 days, respectively. These animals had a lower litter size and fertility that the F1 crossbred sows mainly used in Japan, but a similar tendency for performance by parity. © 2013 Japanese Society of Animal Science.