What are the common breeding methods of pigs?

There are two breeding methods for sows: local hybridization and artificial insemination. Among them, inbreeding refers to the direct mating between estrus sows and boars. There are four mating methods commonly used in production, namely single mating, repeated mating, double mating and multiple mating.

(1) single pairing

Sows mate with boars only once in estrus. The advantage of this feeding method is that it can improve the utilization efficiency of boars, but if the breeders are inexperienced and can't master the optimal feeding temperature of sows, it will affect the conception rate and litter size.

② Repeated breeding

Sows breed with the same boar twice in one estrus. After the first mating, it will mate again every 8-24 hours. This breeding method can increase the chances of fertilization of eggs and improve the conception rate and litter size of sows. In production, multiparous sows all adopt this method.

③ Double mating

During the estrus of sows, two boars of the same breed or different breeds are bred every 10 ~ 15 minutes. This breeding method can promote sows to ovulate more, and fertilize the sperm with strong egg selection activity, thus improving the conception rate and litter size of sows. Pig farms that produce commercial pigs can adopt this method. However, in pig farms or sows preparing to keep seeds, double breeding cannot be adopted, otherwise it will cause pedigree confusion.

4) Multiple breeding

During the oestrus of sows, the same boar is mated three or more times, and the mating time is 24 hours and 36 hours after oestrus of sows. Although this breeding method can increase the litter size, repeated breeding increases the chance of reproductive tract infection, which is easy to make sows suffer from reproductive tract diseases and reduce the pregnancy rate. Moreover, it will increase the reproductive times of boars and increase their reproductive burden.