If you could order the perfect sow, what would you ask for?
A. More uniform litters
B. More full value pigs
C. Greater weaning capacity
D. All of the above
If you chose “D”, you chose the Hypor Libra*, a new commercial sow backed by the top Landrace genetics and eight years of intensive genetic testing with state-of-the-art technology. You chose a sow capable of producing easily more than 30 piglets per year that reach weaning weight without milk replacers and with minimal cross-fostering. You chose the world’s most prolificient sow – the sum of prolific and efficient – that is well balanced and supports total system profitability by delivering all of the above.
Uniform Litters Breed Success
Producing litters that are uniform in size and weight at birth is vital to successfully raising large numbers of finishers. That’s because litters maintain their size variance throughout the growing period. A large weight difference between the largest and smallest pigs in the litter results in groups of finishers being kept back longer so the small pigs can catch up to market weight. And if the pigs are being held back, so are your profits.
“Variation in finisher weights is one of the biggest economic struggles for pork producers,” says HyporEurope General Manager Nicolas Alvarez Hoggan. “An average birth weight of 1,400 g can have a potential weight range per pig of 1,000 g - 2,300 g. This variation leads to a significant difference at finishing.”
How significant? A five percent variation in weight can be a difference of $22,397 (€18,912) for a 1,000- head sow operation.
The bottom line is that a more uniform weight at birth gives piglets a great start in life and betterperformance throughout the growing period. Ask any successful person, and they’ll say a strong start and consistent performance make all the difference. Full Value Pigs: Why Settle for Less?
Successful people and pigs have another thing in common: They never settle for less. To develop a sow that produces uniform litters, Hypor continuously measures the birth weights of each individual pig at their nucleus and CCPS units. Unlike average litter weight, individual weights reveal if a litter has a small or large pig and how that will affect the number of full value pigs. Why is that important? Because piglets with low birth weights are less likely to be rated at full value by slaughterhouses. In fact, for every 0.1 kg decrease in birth weight, the probability of a piglet being full value decreases by 2 per cent and mortality increases by 3 per cent for pre-weaned piglets and 2 per cent for weaned piglets.
By balancing breeding traits for litter size and uniformity, a sow is able to increase survivability without decreasing litter size.
If that’s not the best of both worlds, what is? Weaning Capacity Critical Producing large litters is wonderful. But if you can’t raise them, it’s like a field of golden wheat with no one to harvest it. If a sow produces more piglets than she can raise, producers will need more foster sows which results in higher feed and labor costs.
Measuring each pig at birth and again at 14 days, before they start eating feed, tells Hypor if a sow has sufficient milk supply to get piglets off on the right foot (or hoof). In this way, we can maximize both the quantity and quality of pigs born. That means more pork to market and more cash in your pocket. For those who want only the best for sows and their litters, the Hypor Libra* delivers. Instead of excelling in one area and falling short in the rest, it offers the best combination of all key traits, and producers deserve nothing less.
Because when it comes to achieving more uniform litters, more full value pigs or greater weaning=capacity, you shouldn’t have to settle for just one.
Source: Hypor