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The herd B producer was more successful in maintaining a steady backfat thickness at breeding than was the herd A producer. At breeding, the backfat thickness of sows from herd A showed a marked decrease between parities 2 and 5. During their first parity, these sows gained the least backfat during gestation and lost the most backfat during lactation. Sows from herd B had more LB and LB48 than sows from herd A. In herd A, a longer WEI was found in first and second parity sows.
Our results demonstrate that maintaining backfat thickness throughout the reproductive cycle is more important than fixing this parameter at breeding alone. This is particularly true for gilts, which are prone to mobilize fat tissue reserves, a condition associated with declining reproductive performance.
A.A. Houde, S. Méthot, B.D. Murphy, V. Bordignon, and M.F. Palin. Relationships between backfat thickness and reproductive efficiency of sows: A two-year trial involving two commercial herds fixing backfat thickness at breeding. Canadian Journal of Animal Science. 2010. Vol. 90 (3): 429-436.
