Matrix or PG 600?
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2019 7:44 am
We have a sow that we are needing to get bred, and this will be her 2nd litter. When we bred her as a gilt early this year, she had numerous obvious signs of being in heat, but she never locked up and stood. Based on timing, we got 3 doses in her and she settled just fine. She had a litter of 7 in June. Fast forward to September and we aren't seeing any signs of heat at all. We put her in the trailer and took her for a ride, then brought her back home. 2 days later, it looked like she MAY have had a little swelling that lasted for a couple days, but it was barely discernible. We notated the date and waited 21 days to see what she did. Again, she seemed to possibly have some minimal swelling, but not enough to be certain that she was in heat. Both times, there were no other signs or indications that she was in heat at all. No moisture, no change in vulva color, no change in attitude, no reaction to boar spray. Only the slight swelling. Our intention was to breed her on that second time, but without being certain she was ready, we didn't want to spend the money on semen and then have it wasted. Now, we're starting to run out of time to get her bred for summer fairs, so we want to get something figured out. If she actually was in heat after the trailer ride, then again 21 days later, she should be back in again this month on the 15th.
My question is, based on the fact that we don't really know for sure that she was truly in heat this last month and a half, but we want to get the ball rolling, and get her bred, would it be better to use Matrix on her, or use PG 600, in order to kick start a cycle? I understand what the differences are between the two, and how each one is supposed to work, but I've seen where sometimes using one or the other won't necessarily start a cycle, but might cause one to cycle harder so the signs are more obvious. Even if that's all we got, we'd be happy with that, knowing that we could get her bred. We have gotten some differing opinions from people as to which one would be best, so I thought I might see what advice you all could offer.
My question is, based on the fact that we don't really know for sure that she was truly in heat this last month and a half, but we want to get the ball rolling, and get her bred, would it be better to use Matrix on her, or use PG 600, in order to kick start a cycle? I understand what the differences are between the two, and how each one is supposed to work, but I've seen where sometimes using one or the other won't necessarily start a cycle, but might cause one to cycle harder so the signs are more obvious. Even if that's all we got, we'd be happy with that, knowing that we could get her bred. We have gotten some differing opinions from people as to which one would be best, so I thought I might see what advice you all could offer.