Table 2.
Average values of selected parameters for good (≥ 85%) and low (< 85%) farrowing rate (FR) herds from a herd evaluation completed on 30 commercial sow herds in Ontario
| Good FR herds |
Low FR herds |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Average | s | N | Average | s | N | Pa |
| Number of sows in herd | 391.7 | 251.43 | 6 | 641.9 | 429.05 | 24 | 0.18 |
| Percent purebred sows in herd | 2.5 | 4.18 | 6 | 15.2 | 31.73 | 24 | 0.07 |
| Percent gilts heat checked by direct boar contact | 61.7 | 49.16 | 6 | 58.5 | 50.12 | 24 | 0.89 |
| Percent gilts heat checked with boar in gilt pen | 4.2 | 10.21 | 6 | 35.6 | 47.58 | 24 | 0.01 |
| Percent gilts heat checked with gilt in boar pen | 54.2 | 51.03 | 6 | 14.6 | 34.51 | 24 | 0.03 |
| Percent sows bred by AI only | 47.0 | 45.68 | 5 | 83.9 | 29.40 | 22 | 0.03 |
| Percent sows bred naturally only | 22.5 | 39.21 | 6 | 12.0 | 29.20 | 24 | 0.47 |
| Percent sows bred both naturally and by AI | 46.0 | 44.94 | 5 | 12.5 | 28.33 | 22 | 0.04 |
| Average number of natural breedings/day | 6.0 | 7.24 | 6 | 2.2 | 3.23 | 24 | 0.26 |
| Number of sows bred by AI by 1 person/day | 9.0 | 4.24 | 5 | 14.0 | 7.04 | 21 | 0.14 |
| Number of days post-weaning heat checking starts | 4.2 | 0.41 | 6 | 3.2 | 1.16 | 24 | 0.002 |
| Number of sows/gestation pen | 8.3 | 5.38 | 4 | 16.4 | 17.36 | 21 | 0.10 |
N = number of herds, s = standard deviation.
a
Student’s t-test used to determine statistical differences.