The stimulation task after weaning and insemination is carried out during the parts of the sexual cycle called proestrus and estrus. This final period is characterized by the moment the sow accepts the male and lasts two or three days, although in gilts is somewhat shorter (a little more than a day).
The covering period’s two key points are to correctly detect the heat and inseminate at the optimum time the highest % of sows. In this way, we will increase fertility and prolificacy; also, we will decrease the number of non-productive days of the farm. It seems a simple task, but it requires a high level of training and the operator’s methodical work. We must consider that in this phase, we are risking the piglets that will be born in the next birth, and this must be kept in mind by the staff of the service area.
We consider that the sows that show symptoms of heat in the first three days after weaning will have a long heat (72 hours). Sows that come out in heat from the fourth day until the sixth day after weaning are considered sows with normal heat (48 hours), and sows that leave from the seventh day will be considered short heat (24 h).
For this reason, it is important to ensure the presence of sperm of quality and in sufficient quantity at the time of ovulation; for this, we must have inseminated in the 24 hours prior to breeding; this is where the difficulty comes, to achieve the greatest fertilization using the lowest number of doses possible.
*Magapor
