Effects of second litter syndrome on reproductive performance in sows

Vet World Vol.17 August-2024 Article - 4

Research Article

Veterinary World, 17(8): 1680-1684

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.1680-1684

Nguyen Hoai Nam¹, Thepsavanh Khoudphaithoune¹, Do Thi Kim Lanh¹, Nguyen Van Thanh¹, Nguyen Duc Truong¹, Nguyen Cong Toan¹, Bui Van Dung¹, Bui Tran Anh Dao², and Peerapol Sukon^3,4

1. Department of Animal Surgery and Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam.
2. Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam.
3. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
4. Research Group for Animal Health Technology, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.

Background and Aim: The effects of second litter syndrome (SLS) on subsequent reproductive performance remain poorly understood. This study examined the impact of SLS on reproductive parameters such as piglets born alive (PBA), accumulative number of PBA (APBA), farrowing interval (FI), and risk of decreased PBA (DPBA) up to parity 5.

Materials and Methods: Data on 5,464 litters were recorded from 1,507 sow cards collected on five swine farms in northern Vietnam. A linear mixed-effect model was used to analyze the effect of SLS on the PBA, APBA, and FI. A generalized linear mixed model was used to analyze the effect of DPBA in parity n on the risk of DPBA in parity n + 1.

Results: About 47.8% of the sows contracted SLS (720/1507). Only APBA1-2 was significantly decreased by SLS. The APBA3-5 in SLS sows was comparable to that in non-SLS sows (41.8 vs. 41.9). Non-DPBA2 upped the risk for DPBA3 by 3.6-fold (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.8–4.6). Moreover, non-DPBA3 increased the risk of DPBA4 (odds ratio [OR] = 2.7, 95% CI = 2.1–3.7), and non-DPBA4 increased the risk of DPBA5 (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 2.3–4.7). The risks of developing DPBA4 and DPBA5 remained unchanged following SLS (p > 0.05). About 98.4% of sows underwent PBA fluctuations during their first five parities.

Conclusion: SLS does not appear to detrimentally affect PBA, APBA, and FI in subsequent parities. Therefore, SLS sows do not necessarily have future low reproductive performance or be culled. Future investigations should explore the mechanism of alternate decrease/increase patterns in PBA.

Keywords: piglets born alive, reproductive performance, second litter syndrome.

How to cite this article: Nam NH, Khoudphaithoune T, Lanh DTK, Thanh NV, Truong ND, Toan NC, Dung BV, Dao BTA, and Sukon P (2024) Effects of second litter syndrome on reproductive performance in sows, Veterinary World, 17(8): 1680–1684.

Received: 2024-03-04 Accepted: 2024-07-03 Published online: 2024-08-03

Corresponding author: Peerapol Sukon E-mail: sukonp@kku.ac.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.1680-1684

Copyright: Nam, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.