Effects of uterine infusion of nonviable semen, seminal plasma or egg albumen prior to breeding on the reproductive efficiency of gilts or sows

In two different experiments crossbred gilts and(or) sows were used to investigate the effects of uterine exposure (prior to breeding) to nonviable semen (NS), seminal plasma (SP) or egg albumen (EA) on reproductive performance. Treatment solutions were infused via the cervix at estrus in gilts or within 2 d post-partum in sows. Females were artificially inseminated at the subsequent estrus. In the first experiment pregnancy rates for gilts infused with Beltsville Thawing Solution (BTS) as controls, NS or EA and subsequently inseminated, were 76, 85 and 54%, respectively, and were not significantly different among treatment groups. The number of total embryos (adjusted for number of corpora lutea) present at 38 d postinsemination was 9.6, 9.0 and 9.6, respectively, for BTS, ND and EA infused gilts and was not significantly different. Likewise, the number of live and dead embryos was not different among treatments. In the second experiment, the proportions of inseminated sows infused with BTS, NS or SP that subsequently farrowed were 87, 84 and 92%, respectively, and did not differ significantly among treatments. No significant differences were detected for the number of total, live or dead pigs born per litter among treatments. We conclude that uterine exposure to seminal proteins or egg albumen prior to breeding does not alter reproductive performance in gilts by 38 d of gestation. Also, the infusion of seminal proteins in sows shortly after parturition does not affect pregnancy rates or litter size at the subsequent farrowing. Key words: Reproductive efficiency, litter size, swine, artificial insemination