SOW'S OPERATING VALUE: A NEW EVALUATION METHOD AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS FOR SELECTING HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE ANIMALS

The paper presents the results of studies on the lifespan, duration of breeding use and reproductive qualities of sows of the French Large White breed; based on the use of a new evaluation method, the operational value of sows and the criteria for selecting highly productive animals according to the “Kh1” index were determined. The study was conducted in the conditions of a breeding reproducer for breeding pigs of the Large White breed of the research farm and the laboratory of animal husbandry and feed production of the Institute of Agriculture of the North-East of the NAAS, as well as the laboratory of animal husbandry of the State Institution Institute of Grain Crops of the NAAS. The assessment of sows was carried out taking into account the following quantitative characteristics: lifespan, months; duration of breeding use, months; total farrowings received, total live piglets received, number, multiparity, number, nest weight at the time of weaning at the age of 30 days, kg, survival, %. The selection index of reproductive qualities of the sow (SIVYAS) was calculated according to the method of Tsereniuk et al. (2010), the index of “operating value of the sow” was calculated according to the method of Halak (2025), and biometric indicators were calculated according to the methods of Kovalenko et al. (2011) and Petrovska et al. (2022). It was established that sows of the controlled population are characterized by high indicators of life expectancy (39.7±0.78 months), duration of breeding use (29.3±0.75 months), as well as reproductive qualities (multiparity is 11.2±0.10 goals, litter weight at the time of weaning at the age of 30 days is 75.6±0.44 kg). A significant difference between animals of the I and III experimental groups was established in terms of life expectancy (16.2 months; td=9.70), duration of breeding use (18.2 months; td=15.42), as well as the indicators “total number of piglets received” (3.8; td=22.35), “total number of live piglets born” (49.8 heads; td=26.77), “multiparity” (1.1 heads; td=4.58), “nest weight at the time of weaning at the age of 30 days” (4.5 kg; td=3.26). The number of reliable pairwise correlation coefficients between the index “operating value of the sow” (Kh1), life expectancy, breeding use duration, and reproductive qualities of sows is equal to 100% and ranges from –0.498±0.0637 (tr=6.870; P>0.001) to +0.998±0.0003 (tr=3166.83; P<0.001). The maximum increase in additional production was obtained from sows of the first experimental group. It is +3.20%, and its cost is +134.62 UAH/head/farrowing. The criterion for selecting sows of the “high operating value” category is the evaluation index “Kh1” value at 83.55 – 134.67 points.