Equine chorionic gonadotropin pretreatment 15 days before fixed-time artificial insemination improves the reproductive performance of replacement gilts.
Abstract: Fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) technology uses exogenous reproductive hormones to regulate the sexual cycle and ovulation of sows without oestrus identification, which improves the sow breeding utilisation rate, reduces the number of non-productive days, and elevates the efficiency of pig farm management. In this study, we aimed to optimise FTAI procedures. Healthy 190-day-old and about 90 kg Large White × Landrace crossing breed replacement gilts (n = 166) which were of unknown reproductive status were randomly selected and divided into three groups: a control group (n = 62), an eCG-15D group in which the gilts were pretreated with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) injection 15 days before starting FTAI (n = 50), and an eCG-20D group pretreated with eCG injection 20 days before starting FTAI (n = 54). All three groups were then subjected to the same conventional FTAI procedure. Pigs were orally administered Altrenogest (ALT, 20 mg per pig per day) for 18 days and then 42 h after ALT feeding was stopped, they were injected with 1 000 IU eCG followed by 100 μg GnRH 80 h later. The gilts were inseminated for the first time 24 h after gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) injection and then again 16 h later. After 42 h of ALT feeding, gilts in the eCG-15D group displayed a higher follicular diameter until artificial insemination (AI) than those from the other groups (P < 0.05). In addition, the ovulation times were the most synchronised in the eCG-15D group, with 100% of the gilts ovulating before the second AI on day 25 of FTAI. Furthermore, the gilts in the eCG-15D group achieved the highest pregnancy rate (92%), farrowing rate (90%), total pigs born (11.59), and pigs born alive (11.18). Together, the findings of this study demonstrate that reproductive performance can be optimised by pretreating gilts with eCG 15 days before conventional FTAI.
Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2021-11-26 PubMed ID: 34844186DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2021.100406Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This study investigates how the timing of hormonal treatment can affect fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) in sows, showing that an earlier treatment with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) leads to better fertility outcomes.
Objective and Methods of the Study
- The study aimed to enhance fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) procedures, a technology that uses artificial hormones to manage the sexual cycle and ovulation of sows. This technology helps in improving the breeding rate, reducing the number of non-productive days, and consequently contributing to more efficient pig farm management.
- The experiment included 166 healthy Large White x Landrace crossing breed replacement gilts of about 190 days old and around 90kg. These were divided into three groups: control group, eCG-15D group (which received eCG treatment 15 days before starting FTAI), and eCG-20D group (which received eCG treatment 20 days before starting FTAI).
Procedure and Results
- All animals went through the same conventional FTAI process which includes oral administration of Altrenogest (20 mg per pig per day) and injections of eCG and GnRH hormones before being artificially inseminated twice in a 24-hour interval.
- The findings showed that gilts in the eCG-15D group presented larger follicular diameter until AI, compared to the other groups. Follicle size is vital because larger healthy follicles lead to more successful ovulation and consequently, better fertility.
- Ovulation times were more synchronized in the eCG-15D group, with every sow in the group ovulating before the second artificial insemination.
- Most significantly, the eCG-15D group achieved higher rates of pregnancy (92%), farrowing (90%) and live births (11.18 on average), as well as the total number of pigs born (11.59 on average).
Conclusion
- The study concludes that the reproductive performance and success of FTAI in sows can be improved by pretreating them with eCG 15 days before starting the FTAI procedure. This earlier hormonal intervention leads to enhanced synchronization of ovulation and improved fertility rates compared to other tested timing.
Cite This Article
APA
Zhao Q, Tao C, Pan J, Wei Q, Zhu Z, Wang L, Liu M, Huang J, Yu F, Chen X, Zhang L, Li J.
(2021).
Equine chorionic gonadotropin pretreatment 15 days before fixed-time artificial insemination improves the reproductive performance of replacement gilts.
Animal, 15(12), 100406.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2021.100406 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei Province 071000, China.
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei Province 071000, China.
- Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310021, China.
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei Province 071000, China.
- Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310021, China.
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei Province 071000, China.
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei Province 071000, China.
- Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310021, China.
- Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310021, China.
- Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310021, China.
- Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310021, China.
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei Province 071000, China. Electronic address: lijunjie816@163.com.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Chorionic Gonadotropin / pharmacology
- Estrus
- Female
- Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone
- Horses
- Insemination, Artificial / veterinary
- Pregnancy
- Reproduction
- Swine
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