Sow behaviour during parturition in relation to the observed and the genetic merit for weaning survival

Abstract

The sow's breeding value for mothering ability (EBV ma) can be estimated as the genetic effect of the foster sow on piglet survival at weaning. Sows with a high EBV ma have litters with a short average interval from birth until first colostrum intake. In the present study, it was investigated whether sows with a high EBV ma show differences in maternal behaviour during parturition. It was hypothesized that during parturition, sows with a high EBV ma and/or weaning survival were less active (increased durations of lying laterally and lying ventrally, decreased durations of standing and sitting and less postural transitions) than sows with a low EBV ma. These behaviours were observed from birth of first piglet until birth of last piglet using 25 sows with known EBV ma. It was found that during parturition sows with high weaning survival showed longer durations of sitting and shorter durations of standing than sows with low weaning survival. These results indicate that maternal behaviour during parturition has an effect on piglet survival at weaning. No effect of EBV ma on maternal behaviour during parturition was found. In conclusion, EBV ma of sows did not show a relationship with their maternal behaviour during parturition. This would suggest that the previously found difference in interval until first colostrum intake of piglets from sows with varying EBV ma, is not related to differences in maternal behaviour during parturition, although this should be specifically tested in future experiments. The results from this study can be used as a starting point for future research to eventually provide breeding companies with tools to select sows for pre-weaning survival of piglets.