Operational Value and Productivity of Large White Breed Sows of the French Selection by the “Axiom” Company

The study presents the results of research on the lifespan, breeding longevity, and reproductive performance of Large White sows of French selection with varying operational value, as well as the calculation of the economic efficiency of their use. The research was conducted at the pedigree breeding farm for Large White pigs of LLC “Agroprime Holding” in the Odesa region and in the Animal Husbandry Laboratory of the State Institution “Institute of Grain Crops” of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine. The study presents the results of research on the lifespan, breeding longevity, and reproductive performance of Large White sows of French selection by the “AXIOM” company with varying operational value, as well as the calculation of the economic efficiency of their use. The research was conducted at the pedigree breeding farm for Large White pigs of LLC “Agroprime Holding” in the Odesa region and in the Animal Husbandry Laboratory of the State Institution “Institute of Grain Crops” of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine. It was established that the lifespan of Large White sows of French selection by the “AXIOM” company is 34.1 months, while their breeding longevity is 26.3 months. In terms of prolificacy and litter weight at weaning at 60 days of age, they exceed the minimum requirements for the elite class by an average of 18.46%. Considering intrabreed differentiation by the “operational value of the sow” index (Kh1), a significant difference was found between sows of groups I and III in lifespan (10.2 months), breeding longevity (10.6 months), number of farrowings obtained (2.1), number of live piglets obtained during the breeding period (40.9 head), prolificacy (2.8 head), number of piglets at weaning at 28 days of age (1.9 head), litter weight at weaning at 28 days of age (10.1 kg), and litter weight at weaning at 60 days of age (29.3 kg). The piglet survival rate to weaning at 28 days of age among sows of groups I, II, and III ranged from 89.8% to 95.4%. The proportion of significant pairwise correlation coefficients between the Kh1 index, long-term adaptation traits, and reproductive performance of sows was 100%. The highest additional product gain was obtained from sows of group I, amounting to +5.77%, with a value of +367.23 UAH per head per farrowing. The selection criterion for the leading group of sows by the “operational value of the sow” index (Kh1) is its value in the range of 84.41–105.88 points.