Lifetime reproductive performance and survival of English Berkshire female pigs raised in commercial herds in subtropical Japan

The objective of the present study was to compare lifetime reproductive performance and survival probability of English Berkshire female pigs and crossbred females in a subtropical region of Japan. We analyzed records of 20,417 females entered into the 12 herds in Southern Japan from 2003 to 2007. Generalized linear mixed-effects models were conducted to compare the lifetime reproductive performance of the Berkshire and crossbred females. Multilevel mixed-effects models were conducted to compare the lifetime reproductive performance of the Berkshire and crossbred females. Also, a multilevel proportional hazard model was used to examine the survival probabilities for the two breeds. Berkshire gilts were 39.8 days older at first-mating than crossbred gilts ( P = 0.05). The pigs born alive (PBA) in Berkshire and crossbred gilts increased from 5.8 to 6.9 pigs and from 10.7 to 11.1 pigs, respectively, as age at first-mating increased from 220 to 310 days old ( P < 0.05). More Berkshire gilts were culled for reproductive failure than crossbred gilts (7.5 vs. 3.8 %; P < 0.05). Also, Berkshire females had 2.7 lower parity at removal, 224.4 days lower reproductive herd-life, and 4.2 pigs fewer average lifetime PBA than crossbred females ( P < 0.05) and tended to have a lower survival probability ( P = 0.05). In summary, Berkshire females had later puberty, were more sensitive to age at first-mating for increasing PBA, and had lower fertility and a lower survival probability than crossbred females in commercial herds.