Dr. Darwin Reicks: Changes in Boar Studs | Ep. 51

“The majority of boars, if you start varying their collection schedule, it's a stress to the boar and you'll have certain boars that will start to have bad semen quality. Keep it in mind: once a week. If you have older boars, what is common is a 3-in-2 schedule (collected 3 times in 2 weeks).” – Dr. Darwin Reicks

Boars represented 50% of the final product of pig production and unfortunately get less than 1% of the attention – at least if you measure in terms of literature published. Thus, join me on this podcast with Dr. Darwin Reicks where he shares the changes and best practices in boar studs.

What you will learn:

- The 5 biggest changes in boar studs over the last 25 years;

- What has changed after PRRS;

- Ventilation;

- Quality control;

- Post-Cervical Artificial Insemination;

- Estimated breeding value (EBVs) management.

Darwin’s favorite swine-related book: Swine Reproduction

Darwin’s favorite book in general: The Secret Race

Dr. Darwin Reicks received his DVM from Iowa State University in 1994 and has been in swine practice since then. Received the Leman “Science in Practice award” from the University of Minnesota in 2005 and the “Science with Practice Award” from Iowa State University in 2017. He is the owner of Reicks Veterinary Research & Consulting, specializing in boar stud management and artificial insemination techniques. International leader in biosecurity applied to insemination centers and external quality controls.

This episode was published by Lauro Faccin.