Survival analysis of length of life and length of productive life in Landlly sows
Survival traits are of major importance in pig breeding as replacing a sow cost more than maintaining a sow in the herd for additional parity. The objective of this study was to determine the factors affecting the longevity of Landlly pigs by employing survival analysis. Both conventional Cox regre...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Indian Journal of Animal Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://epubs.icar.org.in/index.php/IJAnS/article/view/155242 |
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| Summary: | Survival traits are of major importance in pig breeding as replacing a sow cost more than maintaining a sow in the herd for additional parity. The objective of this study was to determine the factors affecting the longevity of Landlly pigs by employing survival analysis. Both conventional Cox regression and the Fine-Gray subdistribution hazard model were used in the analyses. The data were collected during the year 2014 to 2021, from the Swine Production Farm, ICAR-IVRI, Bareilly. The average length of life (LL) of Landlly sows are 186 days at the farm, as most of the sows are quickly removed (culled) from the herd after completing the first parity, while some sows are selected for more than one farrowing leading to their average length of productive life (LPL) on the form to be 349 days making the length of life (LL) is smaller than the length of productive life (LPL). The winter season (November-February) was harmful to the survival of Landlly piglets. The initial years of birth had protective effects on the LL, while it had hazardous effects on the LPL. The sows became safe from combined risks of removal after crossing parity 1 and parity 2, and they had longer LL. Similarly, after crossing Parity 1 and Parity 2, the sows became safe from risks of removal due to culling, and they had longer LL. The sows also had higher hazards of death after crossing Parity 1 and Parity 2. The sows had longer LPL if they crossed Parity 1 and Parity 2. It was found that birthweight had a highly protective effect against risks of removal, and sows with higher birthweight had a longer LL. No effect of age at the first farrowing on LPL could be found. The birthweight must be sufficiently higher in Landlly pigs to achieve a longer LL, which could be achieved with better nutrition of sows during pregnancy. To ensure longer LL and LPL of sows, the new-born piglets need to be protected during winter seasons. Culling the sows in later parities will secure longer LL and LPL, saving the costs associated with raising replacement gilts.
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| ISSN: | 0367-8318 2394-3327 |