Association between Backfat Depth and Litter Size at Birth in Primiparous Sows

Authors

  • Atthaporn Roongsitthichai Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
  • Seri Koonjaenak Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
  • Padet Tummaruk Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.

Keywords:

backfat thickness, gilts, litter size at birth, A-mode ultrasonography

Abstract

This study was undertaken to investigate the association between backfat thickness (BF) at insemination and litter size at the birth of first parity sows. In total, 201 Landrace × Yorkshire crossbred gilts raised in a conventional open housing system from the eastern region of Thailand were included. The measurement of BF was performed using A-mode ultrasonography at the first mating day, the 70th day of gestation period, and 1 wk prior to farrowing. The gilts were categorized on the criterion of BF at the mating day into three groups: high (17–20 mm), moderate (14–16.5 mm), and low (11.0–13.5 mm). The results revealed that the gilts in the high group possessed the biggest litter size (13.1 ± 0.5 piglets), compared to the moderate and the low groups which had 12.0 ± 0.4 and 12.0 ± 0.6 piglets per litter, respectively.

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Published

2011-06-30

How to Cite

Atthaporn Roongsitthichai, Seri Koonjaenak, and Padet Tummaruk. 2011. “Association Between Backfat Depth and Litter Size at Birth in Primiparous Sows”. Agriculture and Natural Resources 45 (3). Bangkok, Thailand:422-27. https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/anres/article/view/245316.

Issue

Vol. 45 No. 3 (2011): May-June

Section

Research Article

License

online 2452-316X print 2468-1458/Copyright © 2022. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/),
production and hosting by Kasetsart University of Research and Development Institute on behalf of Kasetsart University.