Causes and Solutions for Gilts Not Coming into Estrus
Gilts are key to the continuous breeding and development of the entire pig herd, so their feeding management and reproductive capacity are extremely important. Whether a gilt comes into estrus directly affects the production performance of the whole herd. If a gilt has abnormal estrus or does not come into estrus at all, the impact on the pig farmer's economic returns is very significant. So what should you do if a gilt does not come into estrus? Let's take a look together below!
I. Preventive Measures
1. Nutrition and Drinking Water
When feeding gilts, we must ensure the feed is clean and hygienic, and must not feed moldy or spoiled feed. Ensure the feed is comprehensive and adequate in nutrition, and control the feeding amount according to the gilt's age in days and body weight. For example, at 120 days of age, when the gilt is about 65kg, feed her until around 170 days at about 105kg. Then from this point until half a month before the third estrus period, restrict feeding by giving about 5 jin of feed per day, and also ensure adequate clean drinking water. Then ensure the sow has at least one day per week of free movement, and a vasectomized boar can be placed in the group of 6-month-old sows.
2. Master the First Mating Period Well
The first mating period of gilts is very important. Experiments show that for two-way crossbred gilts, the age at first mating must not be less than 8 months, and body weight should remain above 110kg. Generally, they should be allowed to go through the first two estrus periods, and each estrus cycle of a gilt is about 21 days. Therefore, after about 40 days from the first estrus, when the gilt begins her third estrus, mating can be carried out. Half a month before the gilt's third estrus, appropriately feed estrus-inducing feed to promote ovulation in the sow.
3. Proper Estrus Induction
In addition, we should also do a good job of estrus induction for gilts. When a gilt is around 170 days old and reaches a body weight of about 110 kg, estrus induction work can begin. Let the gilt come into contact with a boar about twice a day, each time lasting 10 minutes. It is best if the boar has sufficiently strong libido, as the estrus induction effect will be better. Then we should also pay attention every day to checking the sow's estrus status using methods such as back pressure and vulva examination, and keep good estrus records to prepare for mating. Timely discovery of gilts not in estrus allows early handling. Finally, do a good job of disinfection and disease prevention and control to ensure gilts can mate normally.
II. Treatment Methods
If a gilt does not come into estrus due to congenital reasons, then she should be culled in a timely manner. If it is caused by disease, then corresponding measures should be taken according to the actual situation of the disease. If the condition is relatively serious and normal estrus cannot occur, then she should also be culled as early as possible. If it is mild, treat promptly so she can recover as soon as possible. For sows that are normal in all respects but do not come into estrus, an appropriate amount of Chinese medicinal herbs or vitamin E, etc., can be added to the feed to induce estrus. Injection of pregnant mare serum, intramuscular injection of chorionic gonadotropin, etc., can also be used. Finally, sows not in estrus can also be driven into a group of boars for a quarter of an hour of contact, twice a day, and some sows will come into estrus after about a week.
The above is a brief introduction to what to do when gilts do not come into estrus. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can be helpful to everyone!