Bioscientifica Proceedings

Artificial insemination with fresh or stored semen is currently the only sperm technology used at a commercial scale in the pig industry. Attention should therefore be given for further improvement of the functionality and fertilizing ability of cryopreserved semen, as well as for sperm sorting for gender pre-selection. During the last two decades various proteins and polypeptides have been identified in boar seminal plasma, and the relevance of some of them to reproduct...

It has been suggested that the long-term reproduction of the sow is best served by minimizing weight and fat loss in lactation. Such a strategy would require only a minimal restoration of weight in the following pregnancy, which would be beneficial, since the greater feed intake and weight gain in pregnancy, the greater the weight loss in lactation. Feeding ad libitum should be practised during lactation while gestation feed intake must be held low. A relationship between...