The Suinfort^® Semen Supplement Counters Seasonal Infertility in Iberian Sows

• Published in: Animals
• Main Authors: Javier Piñán, Felipe Martinez-Pastor, Beatriz Alegre, Magdalena Maj, Roy N. Kirkwood, Juan Carlos Domínguez, Rodrigo Manjarín
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-11-01
• Subjects: Iberian pig; sow; artificial insemination; Suinfort^®; seasonal infertility
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3176

Suinfort^®, a commercial semen supplement demonstrated to increase fertility and litter size in commercial sows, was tested to improve reproductive performance in Iberian sows. A total of 1430 Iberian sows were artificially inseminated (AI) with semen from Duroc boars and assigned by parity to receive the seminal additive Suinfort^® containing 2 IU oxytocin, 5 µg lecirelin, and 2 mM caffeine (SF; <i>n</i> = 1713 AI), or to serve as non-supplemented controls (CON; <i>n</i> = 2625 AI). CON showed a lower fertility comparing to winter for spring (<i>p</i> = 0.001) and summer (<i>p</i> < 0.001); summer was lower than autumn (<i>p</i> = 0.012). SF removed this seasonal effect (<i>p</i> > 0.05). Fertility was significantly higher for SF sows during summer (<i>p</i> = 0.025) and autumn (<i>p</i> = 0.004). Total born, live-born, stillborn, and mummified piglets did not differ between CON and SF but were impacted by the season, with total and live-born decreasing in summer compared with autumn (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and winter (<i>p</i> = 0.005). In conclusion, seminal supplementation with Suinfort^® improved the fertility of Iberian sows during periods of seasonal infertility.