Sow ovarian follicle growth and ovulation are normally prevented by suckling during lactation. Terry et al. (2011) demonstrated that provision of boar contact during late lactation causes high incidences of lactation oestrus in sows suckling three, five, seven and 10 piglets (parity 2.9±0.17; mean±SEM). However, sows suckling 10 piglets had a reduced subsequent litter size (8.9±1.1) compared to sows suckling seven and five piglets (13.1±1.1 and 12.5±1.0, respectively). We hypothesised that removing a portion of the litter will improve subsequent embryo survival and alter gene expression of subsequent foetuses from sows mated in lactation.
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