ACTA VETERINARIA ET ZOOTECHNICA SINICA ›› 2016, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (6): 1133-1139.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2016.06.007

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Correlation Analysis between the Ambient Temperatures and Reproductive Performance of Sows

LI Yan-sen,SHEN Xiang-xing,LI Chun-mei*   

  1. (College of Animal Science and Technology,Nanjing Agricultural University,Nanjing 210095,China)
  • Received:2015-12-23 Online:2016-06-23 Published:2016-06-23

Abstract:

The present study was conducted to investigate the correlation between environmental temperatures and the parameters of reproductive performance for the entire year of 2014 in Yancheng City of Jiangsu Province.The performance of sows in a large-scale pig farm in Yancheng City of Jiangsu Province was analyzed including the litter size (LS),number of dead fetuses (NDF),number of weaning piglets (NWP),weaning-to-estrus rate within 7 d (WER7d),and return-to-estrus rate (RER).The environmental temperature parameters were recorded including the daily highest temperature (DHT),daily lowest temperature (DLT),average values of DHT per month (ADHT),average values of DLT per month (ADLT),total number of days with DHT greater than or equal to 30 ℃ per month (TNDHT30),total number of days with DLT less than or equal to 10 ℃ per month (TNDLT10).The results showed that,the TNDHT30,ADHT and ADLT parameters all attained the peak values (19 d,30.3 ℃,and 23.0 ℃,respectively) in July.Compared to the average levels for the whole year,the values were highest for the RER of October and the NDF of July (P<0.05).In addition,the parameters of the WER7d of September,LS of July,and NWP of July were decreased to the lowest levels (P<0.05).The correlations between the ADHT and the TNB,NWP,NDF and WER7d parameters were significant.Furthermore,there were significant correlations between the TNDHT30 and the LS,NWP and NDF parameters.In conclusion,the seasonal infertility rate might be attributable to the negative impact of the high ambient temperature and the increased exposure time on the reproductive endocrinology,oosperm growth,and the fetal development in sows during summer.

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