Assessment of the reproductive performances of native sows in Southern Benin
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford university press
Abstract
Native sows contribute to a large
extent to food security and poverty alleviation in
Benin. However, their reproductive performance
particularly under extensive systems is poorly
characterized. The objective of this study was
to fill this knowledge gap by selecting 284 multiparous sows based on hair color and some re productive parameters. The results showed that
native sows of Southern Benin can be clustered
into three groups with group 3 showing the best
reproductive performances including highest
average litter size (LS, 10.31 piglets), live-born
piglets (LBP, 10.31 piglets), number of functional teats (10.94), and shorter average farrowing
interval (6 mo). The analysis of sows’ performances based on their origin revealed that sows
from agro-ecological zone 8 have the highest
number of LBP and the lowest age at first mating
and first farrowing. The analysis of sows’ performances based on the hair color showed that
those with black hair have the largest LS and
the highest number of LBP. This study showed
that Benin’s native sows have good reproductive
ability with enough variation to develop a sustainable pig industry for a better contribution to
food security and wealth creation.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
conservation, farrowing interval, litter size, selection