The influence of fattening and slaughter traits on reproduction in Polish Large White sows

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of growth rate, back fat thickness, loin eye height and meatiness on the reproductive performance of sows based on the first two reproduction cycles. This study was conducted on 348 sows of the Polish Large White breed maintained in farm conditions. It was observed that the sows from the group with the lowest weight gains (≤600 g) were characterised by the latest age of first farrowing, which was 374 days, and the lowest number of live born piglets in a litter (12.13 heads). Statistical analysis also demonstrated that females from the group with the thickest back fat (>15 mm) bore the lowest number of live piglets in a litter (on average 11.47 heads), and the difference between this group and the others was highly significant. Considering the influence of standardised loin eye height on reproduction traits, the smallest litters (11.53 heads) were observed in the group of females with the lowest loin eye height (≤55 mm). Sows with the lowest standardised meatiness (≤55%) had the least numerous litters: 11.87 live-born piglets. In turn, the highest number of live-born piglets was reported in the group of sows with the highest meatiness (>60%). Based on these results, it may be concluded that improvement in fattening and slaughter traits did not have a negative influence on the reproduction efficiency in the first two production cycles.