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Use of Boar Spermatozoa for Artificial Insemination. I. Fertilizing Capacity of Fresh and Frozen Spermatozoa in Sows on 36 Farms¹

US Department of Agriculture^,2,5,, Beltsville, MD and and Research Institute for Animal Husbandry, Zeist and Cooperative for Swine Artificial Insemination, Vught, The Netherlands

Abstract

A field trial was conducted on 36 farms in the Netherlands to compare the fertilizing capacity of fresh and frozen-thawed boar spermatozoa. Four-hundred and fifty-one sows were artificially inseminated with semen that had been frozen and thawed according to the Beltsville Method or diluted in Kiev extender and inseminated on the day of collection. Twelve boars of the Dutch Landrace and Dutch Large White breeds were used. Farrowing rates, total number of pigs per litter and number of live pigs per litter were higher (P<.0001) for sows inseminated with fresh semen than for sows inseminated with frozen-thawed semen (79.1%, 10.6 and 9.9 vs 47.0%, 7.4 and 7.1, respectively). Farrowing rates for sows inseminated with frozen-thawed semen were higher when semen from Dutch Large White boars was used than when semen from Dutch Landrace boars was used (58.6 vs 40.9%); the pattern was reversed for insemination with fresh semen (76.5 vs 81%). Boar differences based on farrowing rate ranged from 62 to 92% for fresh semen and from 29 to 72% for frozen semen. There was no inseminator effect or farm effect on farrowing rate. On the basis of these results, frozen semen used for artificial insemination under practical circumstances can be expected to result in a farrowing rate about 30 percentage points lower and a litter size about three pigs smaller than does fresh semen.

¹ We acknowledge with gratitude the technical assistance of E. A. Aalbers-Smit, M. DenBesten, J. H. Van Nimwegen, J.H.M. Rademaker and W. Jacobs and the assistance with statistical analyses provided by Dr. Caird E. Rexroad, Jr.

² SEA-AR, Animal Science Institute, Reprod. Lab.

³ Research Institute for Animal Husbandry, Zeist, The Netherlands.

⁴ Cooperative for Swine Artificial Insemination, Vught, The Netherlands.

⁵ Mention of a trade name, proprietary product or specific equipment does not constitute a guarantee or warranty by the USDA and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products that may be suitable.

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				K E Waterhouse, P O Hofmo, A Tverdal, and R R Miller Jr Within and between breed differences in freezing tolerance and plasma membrane fatty acid composition of boar sperm. Reproduction, May 1, 2006; 131(5): 887 - 894. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]