About
two per cent of male pigs carry the defect, he said, and he has developed a
test to identify them from blood samples.
“The
abnormal chromosome in boars, male pigs, causes lower litter sizes, typically three
to four fewer piglets per litter,” said King who holds the Canada Research
Chair in Animal Reproductive Biotechnology at the University of Guelph’s
Ontario Veterinary College.
“Those
numbers can add up to $100 in lost revenue, on average per litter. We’ve
developed a simple blood test that can identify boars with the abnormal
chromosome and rule out the problem before any breeding, ensuring average
litter sizes at minimum.”
