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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #74717
Title: AN EVALUATION OF THREE METHODS FOR ASSESSING SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN BOARS

Author
item LEVIS, DONALD - UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
item Ford, Johny
item Christenson, Ronald

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/23/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Swine producers require boars with an adequate sexual behavior to mate estrous females in a timely and efficient manner, but breeding systems vary from unsupervised pen matings to closely supervised hand matings. The current study evaluated boars under three different breeding systems and determined that sexual behavior of boars was highly correlated across the three systems. Thus, a boar that has inadequate sexual behavior in one system should not be expected to have greatly improved sexual behavior in another management setting. These findings will assist producers and extension specialists improve breeding efficiency of boars.

Technical Abstract: This study used three separate methods to evaluate male sexual behavior in boars previously classified as having high (H), intermediate (INT), or low (L) levels of sexual behavior. Boars were initially evaluated for sexual behavior at 10 mo of age with a tethered female for 5 min. Boars were subsequently evaluated with a tethered female for 10 min (TF), a group of females for 10 min (FG), or in a cohabitation environment for 113 continuous hours (C). When boars were evaluated by a TF procedure they mounted the gilt quicker (P < .01) and copulated sooner (P < .01) than when evaluated by FG procedure. Regardless of whether a TF or FG procedure was used, L boars spent less time (P < .01) nosing the sides of females and took longer (P < .01) to first mount than H or INT boars. Proportion of successful matings was not different between the TF and FG procedure; however, the proportion of successful matings by H (91.7%), INT (79.2%) and dL (45.8%) boars did differ (P < .001). With the C procedure sexual behavior classification affected (P < .01) average number of successful matings (H, 4.7; INT 2.3; and L, .33). This study suggests that the sexual behavior traits expressed by a boar are similar when he is evaluated with a tethered female, a group of females, or in a cohabitation environment.