Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T02:01:22.988Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reproduction in the gilt 4. The effect of rearing gilts with contemporary castrated males or intact males on the attainment of puberty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

D. J. A. Cole ,
G. W. Dyck  and
S. Nathan
D. J. A. Cole
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD
G. W. Dyck
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD
S. Nathan
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD
Get access

Abstract

Sixty-six Landrace × (Landrace × Large White) gilts were allocated at 70 days of age to one of three rearing treatments of housing with gilts, contemporary castrated males or contemporary intact males. Half the experiment was completed in winter and half in spring. At 159 days of age all gilts were subjected to a change of pen and, from 160 days of age, daily exposure to mature vasectomized boars. The rearing treatments had a small but significant effect on the time interval from boar exposure to puberty, with gilts housed with gilts averaging 8·9 days to puberty compared with 7·1 days and 7·4 days for gilts housed with castrates and boars, respectively (p < 0·05). In addition, there was a seasonal effect on the time interval to puberty. Gilts receiving mature boar exposure during the winter months had a longer interval to puberty than gilts exposed to boars during the spring (8·8 days v. 6·9 days; P < 0·01). These results indicated no habituation effects of gilts housed with contemporary males but, rather, the possibility of a slightly earlier induction of puberty.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , October 1982 , pp. 171 - 175
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agricultural Research Council. 1967. The Nutrient Requirements of Farm Livestock. No. 3, Pigs, p. 82. Agricultural Research Council, London.Google Scholar
Aherne, F. X., Christopherson, R. J., Thompson, J. R. and Hardin, R. T. 1976. Factors affecting the onset of puberty, post-weaning estrus and blood hormone levels of Lacombe gilts. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 56: 681–692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, P. H. and Cole, D. J. A. 1969. The effect of boar presence on the age at puberty of gilts. Rep. Sch. Agric. Univ. Nott., pp. 74–77.Google Scholar
Brooks, P. H. and Cole, D. J. A. 1970. The effect of the presence of a boar on the attainment of puberty in gilts. J. Reprod. Fert. 23: 435–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dyck, G. W. 1971. Puberty, post-weaning estrus and estrous cycle length in Yorkshire and Lacombe swine. Can J. Anim. Sci. 51: 135–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyck, G. W. 1974. Effects of a cold environment and growth rate on reproductive efficiency in gilts. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 54: 287–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gossett, J. W. and Sorensen, A. M. Jr, 1959. The effects of two levels of energy and seasons on reproductive phenomena of gilts. J. Anim. Sci. 18: 40–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haines, C. E., Warnick, A. C. and Wallace, H. D. 1959. The effect of two levels of energy intake on reproductive phenomena in Duroc Jersey gilts. J. Anim. Sci. 18: 347–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, P. E. and Cole, D. J. A. 1975. Reproduction in the gilt. 1. The influence of age and weight at puberty on ovulation rate and embryo survival in the gilt. Anim. Prod. 21: 183–189.Google Scholar
Hughes, P. E. and Cole, D. J. A. 1976. Reproduction in the gilt. 2. The influence of gilt age at boar introduction on the attainment of puberty. Anim. Prod. 23: 89–94.Google Scholar
Kirkwood, R. N. and Hughes, P. E. 1980. A note on the efficacy of continuous v. limited boar exposure on puberty attainment in the gilt. Anim. Prod. 31: 205–207.Google Scholar
Paterson, A. M. and Lindsay, D. R. 1980. Induction of puberty in gilts. 1. The effects of rearing conditions on reproductive performance and response to mature boars after early puberty. Anim. Prod. 31: 291–297.Google Scholar
Self, H. L., Grummer, R. H. and Casida, L. E. 1955. The effects of various sequences of full and limited feeding on the reproductive phenomena in Chester White and Poland China gilts. J. Anim. Sci. 14: 573–592.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snedecor, G. W. and Cochran, W. G. 1967. Inspection of all differences between pairs of means. In Statistical Methods, 6th ed., pp. 271–275. Iowa State University Press, Ames, la.Google Scholar