Sow Reproductive Performance in Institutional Herds in Benue State,

This study was carried out to determine the reproductive performance of sows in institutional swine herds which serve as model herds in Benue state, central Nigeria. Herd records on 185 sows that littered 3,995 piglets from three herds were used for the analysis of reproductive and production performance. Management practices including reproductive management, herd structure, breeds of sows, animal types, reproductive and production indices such as age at first farrowing (AFF), conception rate (CR), farrowing interval (FI), number of litter per sow per year (NLPSPY), litter size at birth (LSAB) and at weaning (LSAW), litter weight at birth (LWAB) and at weaning (LWAW), number of pigs reared per sow per year (NSRPSPY), stillbirth (SB), preweaning piglet mortality (PWPM) and sow longevity (SL) were assessed. The performance parameters obtained were AFF (14.93±0.24), CR (>90%), FI (23±6.81), NLPSPY (2.0), LSAB (10.75 ± 0.56), LWAW (8.1±0.47), LWAW (6.76±0.15), NPRPSPY (17.03±1.21), SB (9.16%), PWPM (25.22%) and SL (56 years). It was concluded that though most of these values were within the global range values some were below the target performance values recommended for optimal sow productivity.