Improved farrowing rate using intrauterine insemination in sows

Abstract

Intrauterine insemination (IUI), a technique that uses a lower number of spermatozoa than conventional artificial insemination (CAI), could contribute to improve reproductive efficiency of boars. However, since some field trial reports show suboptimal performance for IUI, it is necessary to continue evaluating and standardizing this technique. In this work, the use of fixed reduced sperm amounts and doses volumes for IUI respect to CAI using the same semen samples was assessed. The results show an increase in the farrowing rate using IUI vs CAI (84.80 ± 0.36 vs 71.44 ± 2.63, P<0.05). Parameters such as litter size, live piglets/litter, stillborn or mummified fetuses were analyzed as well and showed non-significant differences between techniques. Statistical positive correlation analyses showed a positive correlation between live piglets/litter and stillborn piglets and between stillborn and total number of piglets, only for CAI. In addition, the economic analysis showed a positive impact on the productivity of the farm, and possibly of the region, by lowering costs using IUI instead of CAI. In conclusion, the intrauterine insemination had a positive impact on the reproductive performance and on the economic parameters of porcine production.