RED DEER – Pork producers who use natural service boars rather than artificial insemination need better than average stockmanship skills and plenty of patience.
A boar should last three to four years and should not be overworked in the beginning, swine specialist Calvin Ginter of East-Man Feeds told a recent swine technology conference in Red Deer.
Boars should be vaccinated twice a year with five millilitres of parvovirus vaccine and should be dewormed two to three times per year .
“Deworming is overlooked and depending on the health status, you may want to give that boar a shot of Draxxin (swine respiratory disease treatment) just to make the transition smoother. It is something to talk to your veterinarian about,” Ginter said.
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Proper nutrition is also important to produce better quality sperm cells.
“We find on many farms there is not a specific boar diet,” Ginter said.
Boars require selenium and other trace minerals. High quality oil such as tuna oil can be added as a fatty acid supplement.
Organic chelated minerals can help build leg and hoof integrity.
A young boar in its first servicing should be introduced to sows showing all signs of accepting a male. A bad experience can impair sexual interest.
“You want to be very careful on that initial mating experience,” he said.
“You are setting that boar up for the future and building up the confidence in this boar so he now feels he is the man and can take care of business.”
Hog breeding
- Barn staff should observe the process to learn the boar’s routine and make sure the job is done.
- Boars should mount successfully, and it is a good idea to collect a semen sample to check sperm quantity and movement.
- Semen quality relates directly to litter sizes.
- Producers should limit breeding services for young boars.
- Once a week is enough for seven month old boars. This can be increased to six or seven once they are older than a year. They should not be used two days in a row.
- Never leave a young boar alone in a pen with a group of sows because it could be injured.
- Clean the boar’s pen before servicing to ensure proper hygiene. Spread sawdust or other anti-slip agents if the floor is slippery.
- To test a natural service boar, use the same one on the same sow for both matings. Track 10 sows for pregnancy and check the quality of the resulting piglets.
