Reproductive Performances of Local Pigs in West African Countries: A Review

The local pig is reared in all West Africa countries, and especially in small farms, playing so an important role in its preservation. This article reviews work done on reproductive performances of local pigs in West Africa. These performances focus on age at puberty, estrus and sex cycle, gestation length, prolificity, viability and growth before piglets weaning. Factors that can influence these parameters are included. Finally, the contribution of animal biotechnology to these performances improvement is discussed

Reproductive performances of the Borgou cow inseminated on natural or induced estrus with semen from Gir and Girolando at the Okpara Breeding Farm

Aim: The current study aims to evaluate the reproductive performances of the Borgou cow inseminated on natural or induced estrus with semen from Gir and Girolando at the Okpara Breeding Farm. Materials and Methods: Semen from exotic breeds was used to inseminate 70 Borgou cows on induced estrus with the norgestomet implant and 285 others on natural estrous. Data on the reproductive performances of inseminated cows were collected. Results: In inseminated cows on induced estrus, the pregnancy rate was 30% and that of abortion was 9.52%. The fertility rate was 28.57% and those of live births and mortality were, respectively, 105.26% and 5% in these cows. As for inseminated cows on natural estrus, the pregnancy rate was 75.79% and the one of calving was 88.89%. The fertility rate recorded with natural estrous was 66.67% and was significantly higher than the one recorded with insemination on induced estrus. The live births and the birth-weaning mortality rates were, respectively, 98.96% and 11.58% in inseminated cows on natural estrus. Conclusion: Reproductive performances are better in Borgou cows inseminated on natural estrus than in those inseminated on induced estrus