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REVIEW article
Front. Anim. Sci.
Sec. Animal Physiology and Management
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fanim.2025.1568955
A review: influence of the sow's parity on farrowing and neonate performance
Provisionally accepted
Adrian Alejandro Corrales Hernández 1 Patricia Roldán Santiago 1* Herlinda Bonilla Jaime 2
Luis de la Cruz Cruz 3 Ofelía Limón Morales 2
Hector Oscar Orozco Gregorio 4* Raym Pineda Reyes 5- 1 National Autonomous University of Mexico, México City, México, Mexico
- 2 Departamento de Biología, División de Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, México, Mexico
- 3 Departamento de Producción Agrícola y Animal, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City, México, Mexico
- 4 Polytechnic University of Francisco I. timber, Francisco I. Madero, Mexico
- 5 Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Several authors have noted that a sow’s parity has a significant impact not only on her own productivity but also on the performance of her piglets. Analyzing all the factors related to sows and their neonates at each birth event is an effective tool for improving management and reproductive performance on production units. Multiparous sows exhibit cortisol levels up to 38% higher than those of primiparous sows at peripartum, but the latter have prolactin levels 54-70% lower that reduce colostrum production. In addition, the weaning-to-estrous period is 3 days longer in primiparous sows, and their farrowing intervals up to 8 days longer. Farrowing performance is significantly affected, as litter size tends to increase in multiparous sows, thus extending duration. Piglets are also influenced by parity: those born to multiparous sows have higher weights, up to 2.21 kg more in total litter weight (up to 200 g/piglet). Their thermoregulation capacity is better as they show temperatures up to 1.6ºC higher, greater overall vitality, and higher growth rates than the neonates of primiparous sows, which also suffer higher mortality rates. Given the obvious performance differences among sows of different parity and their offspring, swine breeders must determine the precise effects of this factor. This review details the key differences related to parity in the events surrounding farrowing in sows and the early lives of their offspring.
Keywords: sow, GILT, Primiparous, neonate, farrowing, Endocrinology, Behavior, Vitality
Received: 31 Jan 2025; Accepted: 26 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Corrales Hernández, Roldán Santiago, Bonilla Jaime, de la Cruz Cruz, Limón Morales, Orozco Gregorio and Pineda Reyes. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Patricia Roldán Santiago, National Autonomous University of Mexico, México City, 04510, México, Mexico
Hector Oscar Orozco Gregorio, Polytechnic University of Francisco I. timber, Francisco I. Madero, Mexico
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