EVALUATION OF A PREGNANT MARES'' SERUM AND HUMAN CHORIONIC GONADOTROPHIN MIXTURE FOR ALLEVIATING SUMMER INFERTILITY IN SOWS

A controlled on-farm trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a commercial gonadotrophin hormone mixture at overcoming a seasonal decrease in fertility in pigs in a sub-tropical environment (summer infertility). The average weaning to oestrus interval of the untreated sows was more than double that of the treated sows and this difference was highly significant. However, fewer of the treated sows farrowed and they produced smaller litters. The improvement in fertility in the treated group achieved by reducing the weaning to oestrus interval was more than cancelled out by an overall reduction in the number of weaners produced.