Piglet sucking is the primary cause of lactation anocstrus in sows. It has been proven, separately, that enforced, protracted periods (12 h) of sow-piglet separation and daily boar contact can reliably stimulate a high incidence of lactation oestrus (Kemp and Soedc 2012). Within multi-suckling systems, the frequency of suckling reduces as lactation progresses and has been associated with low, but unpredictable, incidences of lactation oestrus (Lindgren et al. 2013). The objective of the current study was to determine whether 6 h of sow-piglet separation of sows housed individually or in groups, increases the incidence of lactation oestrus in response to supervised, daily, boar contact.
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