Exposição ao calor no dia e até cinco dias antes da inseminação de porcas primíparas não influencia no número de abortos

Abstract

Heat stress contributes to the poor reproductive performance of primiparous sows, which can cause anestrus, increased weaning-mating interval, return to estrus, low parturition and conception rates, and high abortion rates. In the present study, the objective was to evaluate whether exposure to heat on the day and up to five days before insemination in primiparous sows influences the number of abortions or not. For this, reproductive data provided by a commercial farm located in the city of Uberlândia, MG, Brazil and meteorological data provided by the National Institute of Meteorology INMET were evaluated. The Chi-square test was used to relate the effect of days of heat exposure on the day of insemination and up to five days before (females exposed to 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 days of heat stress, THI > 74) with the number of abortions. Analyzing a total of 8451 data, it was found that exposure to THI> 74 on the day and up to 5 days before insemination did not influence the number of abortions (p= 0.7513). Therefore, exposure to heat 5 days before and on the day of insemination does not influence the number of abortions in primiparous sows reared in sheds equipped with nebulizers and fans in a tropical environment.