Production variants for piglet rearing

Piglet production with bought-in gilts

Sows can be replaced by purchasing high-quality, selected F1 gilts. As a general rule, the annual requirement for replacement gilts is 35–45 % of the current number of production sows. When buying in gilts it is extremely important that the selected high performance animals are properly integrated into the herd.

Advice on how to achieve this and the exact formula for calculating the requirement for replacement gilts may be found in our leaflet HÜLSENBERG BREEDING PIGS Integration Advice

Piglet production with gilts produced internally

Internal schemes for producing replacement gilts differentiate between open and closed nucleus herds and other specialised systems.

1. Establishment of an open nucleus herd
Delivery of pure-bred sows at 8 - 12% of the production herd. Replacement stock for the nucleus herd is provided by further purchases of pure-bred sows. The parent herd is replenished by breeding replacements internally.



2. Establishment of a closed nucleus herd (Closed Herd System)
Delivery of pure-bred sows at 8 - 12% of the production herd.
Once the nucleus herd is established, replacements for both the nucleus herd and the parent herd are produced internally.



3. Specialised forms
Internal replacements can also be produced by criss-crossing or rotational crossing.