Careful storage and handling of semen is more important than ever in this warm weather to maintain semen quality and viability which can be damaged by temperature fluctuations. Heat stress in pigs must also be considered and appropriate measures put in place to prevent unnecessary suffering and reduced productivity.
If
you purchase semen from breeding companies that are members of the BPEX AI
quality assurance scheme you know that the semen will be of the highest
quality. However, that quality will
be seriously reduced if semen is not correctly stored and handled on farm and
that is more important than ever in this warm weather. AI doses are damaged
by temperature shock and must be stored and handled carefully. If the storage
temperature fluctuates beyond 15-19 degrees Centigrade, motility can fall and
sperm agglutination can occur, decreasing the total number of sperm per
dose.
The
warm weather also affects your pigs. Pigs subjected to high temperatures will
have reduced growth rates (by up to 50 g/d) and in the breeding herd farrowing
rates could decline by as much as 25%, with litter size showing a small drop
well.
For more information on heat stress and semen storage & handling see
Action for Productivity sheets 3, 4 and 30.
You can also read how introducing some simple shades can improve
reproductive performance in Farm
Case Study 3
2TS
Action for Productivity sheets can be downloaded
here.