Problematika chovu vysoce plodných prasnic

Bachelor thesis concerns with issues of highly fertile sows. The thesis describes the current level of reproduction of sows in the Czech Republic and its welfare implications. It also deals with specific factors affecting litter size such as sow nutrition and exposure to stressors, risk of giving birth to a large number of piglets, anatomy of the mammary gland of a highly fertile sow and the quality and quantity of colostrum and breast milk. The thesis is also focused on other chosen factors affecting the prosperity of piglets such as gestation and intrauterine crowding, placental nutrition, birth difficulties, low birth weight, and establishment of the teat order. Further more, the work describes methods of management of sow breeding and rearing piglets, which improve their lives and welfare. These include tooth reduction, split suckling, cross–fostering, nurse sow system, split weaning, supplementary feeding of milk and artificial breeding of piglets in incubators