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Abortions are the intrauterine death of fetuses (involving loss of gestation between days 35 and 110). All of the fetuses are expelled.
The percent of abortions among the sows serviced should always be less than 2%. When this limit is surpassed, to find out what could be the cause of the abortions we should see if the abortions are concentrated around a certain parity.
When a greater number of abortions is seen for a specific parity, they are usually concentrated around the first parity.
- Many times these abortions are the result of insufficient acclimation of the gilts to the microbiota of the farm. Diseases like PRRS are often thought to be the cause, but frequently App, M. hyopneumoniae or M. hyosynoviae infections can cause elevated abortion rates by affecting sows in a systemic way. This is most evident in group housing.
- In cases of adverse reactions to vaccines, we must consider that gilts are often those that are vaccinated and revaccinated and therefore are at greater risk of abortion.
- The regrouping of sows or housing that creates competition, done exclusively in first parity sows (a common situation) can also cause abortions.
- Catabolic situations as a result of excessively restrictive feeding plans, or cold and/or wet conditions.
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Types of gestation losses that can lower the farrowing rate, detailing the different types of returns to estrus based on when they occur.
