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Effect of Housing Management on Reproductive Development and Performance of Young Boars^{1 ,2,}

Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907

Abstract

Twenty boars (10 Yorkshires and 10 Durocs) were randomly assigned to confinement (C) or pasture lot (P) rearing at approximately 58 days of age to study the influence of housing management on reproductive development and performance. Observations were made at nine 28-day intervals. There was no difference in weight gain or testes size between C or P reared boars except at 254 and 282 days of age when C boars were heavier (P<.05). There was a linear relationship (R² = .97) between body weight and testes size. Confinement boars had higher front soundness scores at eight of the nine observation intervals; however, the difference was significant (P<.05) only at 170 days of age. There were no differences in rear soundness scores. Mean libido scores for C boars were higher (P<.05) at one of the six observation intervals. Coefficient of correlation values of .75 to .94 existed between testis size and libido, number of boars that mounted and number that ejaculated. Although testis size increased with age, testis firmness decreased with age resulting in a negative correlation between age and firmness (R² = .64). No differences were observed in recognition time of an estrus female or for any of the semen characteristics measured. The results of this study indicate that pasture lot vs total confinement housing had little, if any, effect upon growth, soundness or sexual development of young boars.

¹ The authors wish to acknowledge that this research was sponsored in part by a grant from the National Pork Producers Council, Des Moines, IA.

² Journal Article 7134 of the Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station, West Lafayette, IN 47907.

³ Present address: Animal Science Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia 65201.