History of Cystic sows question

Breeding questions, sow talk, semen management, baby pig basics
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whatwasIthinking
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History of Cystic sows question

Post by whatwasIthinking » Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:31 pm

My friend has been breeding for at least 15 years. Over the last three or four years she has had young and old sows and even 1 gilt that won't settle. Some of them have settled only to abort or slough off their litter in the second month. Eventually, after several breeding attempts, she's had them butchered. She requested the butcher to check the ovaries on them and all of them have had large sacks which appeared cystic.
I'm wondering why she is having this problem. She is very strict with giving the Parvo/Lepto vaccine and if I had to guess, this has affected approximately 1/4 of her herd. I was guessing Mycotoxins , but just not sure what else might be going on
Any Ideas
Thank You

zachqhooker
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Re: History of Cystic sows question

Post by zachqhooker » Wed Oct 02, 2019 9:17 am

I am curious about the cause of this as well. We had one sow do the same thing. Everything I read about cystic follicles was that they can occur naturally or due to low levels of hormonal intervention. So, too small a dose of matrix is a common one in show gilts.
Regardless of cause, what we did helped this sow, and she settled. After the second breeding, we gave a shot of Cystorelin (same as Fertagyl, any GnRH should work). This is supposed to “blow out” those follicles and aid in ovulation. She ended up settling with a small litter (8) but unfortunately died later on due to an unrelated ulcer, so we weren’t able to try this on future heats.

If I were to do it again with a sow that wouldn’t settle or wouldn’t stand or had a weird heat, I would probably give matrix for a couple weeks, then give a heavy shot of lutalyse, followed by pg600 the next day. Then, towards the end of this heat I would give GnRH to blow out those cystic follicles. I would then breed the next heat, with no hormonal intervention.
Note: I am not a veterinarian, but this is what our vet suggested for us based on his research. So, if you are unsure, consult with your veterinarian.

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