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Table 1 Factors related to boar management affecting boar semen quality

From: Boar management and semen handling factors affect the quality of boar extended semen

Factor

Details

Effect of semen quality

Reference

Boar selection

 Breed

Pietrain and Duroc vs. GL, LW, YS

Reduced sperm counts

[5]

 Back fat

Back fat thickness in highly selected Piétrain

Positive association with motility

[8]

Housing

 Group housing

Groups of prepupebertal boars vs individual

Higher sperm counts

[45]

 Photoperiod

24 h of complete light or darkness for 3 months

Reduced volume and concentration

[11]

 Heat stress

34.5 °C (8 h) or 31 °C (16 h) for 90 days vs. 23 °C

Reduced motility, reduced morphology

[48]

Nutrition

 Feed restriction

1.4 times below maintenance

Reduced sperm counts

[51]

 Protein restriction

12.0% crude protein (CP) in growers

Reduced sperm counts

[51]

 Selenium

0.06 ppm vs 0.5 ppm continuously

Reduced motility, reduced morphology

[56]

Organic vs inorganic

Increase concentration, increase oxidative stress, increase PGHX

[57, 60]

 L carnitine

625 mg/boar/day supplementation

Improved morphology in Piétrain

[61]

Collection

 Collection frequency

Twice a day during 4 days compared to once every 2 days

Reduced motility and morphology

[9]

 Collection pen

Pen allowing sexual stimulus

higher sperm counts

[63]

  1. GL German Landrace, LW Large white, YS Yorkshire