What are the common methods of raising 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 breeding method is that it can improve the utilization efficiency of boars, but if the breeder is inexperienced and can't master the optimal breeding temperature of sows, the conception rate and litter size will be affected.

(2) Repeated breeding

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

(3) Double mating

In an estrous cycle 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, so that eggs can select sperm with strong vitality to fertilize, 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, two-line breeding cannot be adopted, otherwise the pedigree will be confused.

(4) Multiple breeding

During the estrus of a sow, the same boar is mated for three or more times, and the mating time is 24 hours and 36 hours after estrus of the sow respectively. Although this breeding method can increase the litter size, due to repeated breeding, it increases the chance of reproductive tract infection, easily causes reproductive tract diseases in sows and reduces the pregnancy rate. Moreover, it will increase the breeding times of boars and increase the burden of breeding boars.