Key Benefits:
If you take care of the boar and take care of his semen you will have a good AI operation and AI breeding.
Never, never ever treat a boar badly or rush him!
Successful on-farm AI is all about getting it right each and every time.
The average collection frequency should be 2 or 3 times every two weeks. Boars should be worked once a week even if the semen is not needed to help maintain the highest quality semen in the ejaculate. The more regular the frequency the more consistent boars will remain.
Some good rules to follow when training boars are:
- Allow only a few days rest prior to training. It is important to train boars shortly after having contact or socialization with other boars.
- Use the same kind of dummies and collection pens that will be used in the boar stud.
- Only allow the boar into the collection areas for short periods of time without jumping the phantom sow. Maximum of 15 minutes is suggested. On Surin Farm we have a smaller phantom sow for the training boar.
- Use an experienced boar for the younger boar to watch and to build up aggressive libido behavior.
- Some systems even train boars with another boar in the pen or even on the dummies so that they get the untrained boar to jump the dummy quicker. At Surin Farm we provide a training cage next to the boar extraction area - the young boars can watch the older boar and learn from them.
- Make sure that the dummy height is no higher than the point of the shoulder of the boar when beginning training. You can raise the dummy height once they are trained.
- If a boar has trouble and shows a lack of concentration and fear, or if he feels threatened, immediately remove him from the pen. Remember, this should be a positive experience. Some boars may need to come into the collection pen several times prior to calming down and showing interest in the dummy.
Training the Boar
- Staff members have to be familiar with the boar’s sexual behavior. They have to be a good observer, patient as well as persistent on his job and, what is most important, they have to be motivated.
- Stimulate the boar - One of the most usual options is to let the boar watch the semen collection of another boar just before entering the collection pen for his own training. By having a dedicated area the boar is stimulated just by being moved to the area as he knows it is "his turn".
- If the boar doesn’t show any interest or mounting intent, the best thing is to get him away and to try again later; probably he will not perform during this session. The boar should never be forced because if he associates the training with a negative experience, he will probably reject the dummy in further sessions.
- When training is started prior to age of ten months, success may reach 90% and most boars can be collected within the first three to four weeks after the first contact with the dummy. In contrast, if training is started after the age of ten months, success rate is normally reduced to 70% or less.
- Ideally, the boar should be trained when he is between 8 and 10 months
- With regard to training the boar for semen collection, the key word is patience.
- To begin, the boar is moved to the collection room or pen two or three times at daily intervals,
- The boar being trained should be exposed to the dummy sow during the collection of semen from an already trained boar.
- This procedure helps the boar associate the dummy sow with ejaculation.