Is your pig farm experiencing irregular heat after weaning, frequent returns to heat while open, and repeated unsuccessful inseminations?
Have you changed feed, vaccines, and breeding stock and invested plenty in semen, yet litter sizes still won’t increase?
Most people are looking in the wrong direction. Heat detection in sows is the step in breeding that is easiest to get wrong and causes the greatest cost losses.
The standing reflex cannot be produced by pressing hard with your hands. 9 technicians’ estrus detection method is wrong from the very first step.
One. Two fatal estrus detection mistakes that many pig farms make every day
Mistake 1: Skipping boar stimulation and immediately pressing hard on the sow’s back
During estrus, sows are highly sensitive. Sudden, forceful pressure can easily cause them to become stressed and run away.
Many pig farmers see a sow shy away and immediately conclude that she is not in heat, missing the optimal breeding window for nothing.
Remember this key point: the standing reflex is triggered by the boar, not by pressing down with your hands!
Replacement gilts, weaned sows with short heat periods, and sows with silent heat lack stimulation from the boar’s scent and calls. Relying only on visual observation and pressing down by hand leads to an extremely high detection failure rate.
Misconception 2: Seeing a swollen, reddened vulva and stringy mucus, then rushing to mate
Vulvar swelling and redness, and tail swishing to the side, are only signs of proestrus. They can serve only as a supplementary reference and should not be used as the basis for breeding.
Excessive mycotoxins and inflammation of the sow’s reproductive tract can both cause false heat. She may appear to be in heat, but the follicles do not develop and ovulation does not occur.
Blindly performing artificial insemination will only waste semen and labor, ultimately resulting in an open sow or a return to heat.
The only reliable standard for determining whether a sow is ready for breeding: a steady standing reflex after thorough stimulation by a boar.
II. Standardized 4-step estrus detection process, ready for beginners to implement
1. Preliminary boar exposure for estrus stimulation: The boar walks slowly along the pen, providing close-range scent and sound stimulation; do not stimulate estrus, make a determination, or mate
2. Initial screening through static observation: Observe the vulva, mucus, and sow’s demeanor from a distance; mark suspected sows in estrus
3. Gentle lower-back touch test: Lightly place both hands on the sow’s back without pressing hard; observe whether she flinches or becomes restless
4. Slowly apply pressure to verify the standing reflex: Once the sow is standing steadily, apply pressure evenly to her lower back. Arching her back and tucking in her abdomen, pressing her back against your hand, and standing still with all four limbs tensed indicate the optimal breeding window.
Three. Breeding timing directly determines litter size.
Too early: The follicles are not yet mature, so the sperm have to wait too long, leading to a high incidence of failure to conceive and return to heat.
Mating too late: the eggs age and lose viability, the fertilization rate drops rapidly, and litter size decreases
A brief one-minute heat-detection procedure determines how many piglets are in a litter. Much of the production loss on pig farms is not caused by problems with the pigs, but by losses resulting from rushed and rough handling.
Four. Heat-detection tips—recommended for saving, printing, and posting in the breeding and gestation barn
Introduce the boar first, then check for heat; look first, then touch—don’t rush!
Use appearance only for preliminary screening; breed only when standing still and stable!
Apply gentle pressure gradually to prevent stress; follow standardized procedures to improve productivity!
Five. Basic hygiene practices for heat detection and breeding to reduce uterine inflammation
In many pig farms, post-breeding inflammation recurs and the return-to-estrus rate remains high. In addition to errors in timing, there is another key factor that is easily overlooked: hygiene during breeding procedures.
Following these points can greatly reduce the risk of infection from external sources:
Before insemination, wipe the sow’s vulva clean to reduce the introduction of pathogens;
Use a separate set of artificial insemination supplies for each sow to prevent cross-infection;
Use gentle movements to reduce the risk of injuring the sow’s reproductive tract or causing stress.
Reminder: Hygiene management may seem insignificant, but maintaining it over the long term can significantly reduce uterine inflammation and repeat estrus in sows.