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Animals
Special Issues
Best Management Practices for Breeding Sows and Boars
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Best Management Practices for Breeding Sows and Boars

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Reproduction".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2025 | Viewed by 3333

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alexander Grahofer

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Guest Editor
Clinic for Swine, Department for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Interests: theriogenology; pig reproduction; porcine health management
Dr. Stefan Björkman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departments of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Interests: pig reproduction; endocrinology; porcine health management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The reproductive efficiency in pigs can be influenced by the association of the sow, the boar, and the environment. Therefore, the health status and the husbandry of breeding sows and boars are critical for physiological reproductive performance in the herd; they have a major impact on animal welfare, as well as on the economic output of a farm.

One of the most frequent reasons for culling a sow from a breeding farm is a reproductive disorder, during farrowing, the suckling period or at the insemination. Diseases of the urogenital tract in particular, such as endometritis and cystitis, and production diseases, such as post-partum dysgalactia syndrome, frequently occur on sow farms which differ within herd prevalence. Therefore, it is very important to recognize and treat these reproductive disorders as soon as possible to avoid negative effects on the subsequent reproductive cycle and performance of the sow. Furthermore, the boar has also an essential role in determining the reproductive efficiency in a breeding farm. Any reduction in fertility of boars can be caused by anatomical, metabolic or even psychological disorders that may also be influenced by the environment.

Hence, management practices for both sexes are necessary to improve reproductive performance, animal welfare and the economic output of a breeding farm. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to focus on the improvement in management practices for sows and boars to enhance herd’s reproduction of breeding farms.

Dr. Alexander Grahofer
Dr. Stefan Björkman
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • theriogenology
  • pig reproduction
  • breeding sows
  • boars
  • endocrinology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

36 pages, 1327 KiB  
Review
The Role of Nutrition Across Production Stages to Improve Sow Longevity
by Matheus Saliba Monteiro, Rafaella Fernandes Carnevale, Bruno Bracco Donatelli Muro, Ana Lígia Braga Mezzina, Bruno Braga Carnino, André Pegoraro Poor, Carlos Emilio Cabrera Matajira and Cesar Augusto Pospissil Garbossa
Animals 2025, 15(2), 189; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15020189 - 12 Jan 2025
Viewed by 2529
Abstract
Modern hyperprolific sows are increasingly susceptible to health challenges. Their rapid growth rates predispose them to locomotor disorders, while high metabolic demands, reduced backfat thickness, and increased protein accretion heighten their vulnerability to heat stress and dystocia. Additionally, prolonged farrowing negatively affects the [...] Read more.
Modern hyperprolific sows are increasingly susceptible to health challenges. Their rapid growth rates predispose them to locomotor disorders, while high metabolic demands, reduced backfat thickness, and increased protein accretion heighten their vulnerability to heat stress and dystocia. Additionally, prolonged farrowing negatively affects the oxidative and inflammatory status of these females. Additionally, prevalent conditions such as gastric ulcers and cystitis raise ethical, welfare, and economic concerns. Despite the several studies related to sow nutrition, there are no studies which compile and extrapolate nutrition approaches from the rearing period and their impact on sows’ health and longevity. Also, the aim of our review was to shed light on gaps that require further investigation. Controlling body condition scores is crucial for maximizing productivity in sows. During gestation, high-fiber diets help maintain optimal body condition and prevent constipation, particularly during the peripartum period. Antioxidants offer a range of beneficial effects during this critical phase. Additionally, probiotics and acidifiers can enhance gut health and lower the risk of genitourinary infections. On the day of farrowing, energy supplementation emerges as a promising strategy to reduce farrowing duration. Collectively, these strategies address major health challenges, enhancing welfare and promoting sow’s longevity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Best Management Practices for Breeding Sows and Boars)
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