A boar must be chosen possibly from the same genetical house as gilts, if not and anyway, big competence or advisory is needed, but as general suggestion before purchasing new boars a period of trial with semen and check of siblings during life and at slaughter can give valuable data to make a decision. A good advice is always to remember that a boar can inseminate very many sows, a mistake would cost a lot. A boar is not a tractor, is not an exhibition animal. One simple evidence can help, genetically and animal is replicating himself so, again, a body judging is giving a first rough idea about what will come out.

Inside a farm the most important duties are heat detection and insemination, great care and skill have to be implemented. The item is to wide to be tighten in few lines, most recommendations given in farms are dealing mainly with timing of insemination; hygiene about semen collection, all instruments and during insemination; take care about the animals, gently keeping animals pays back, always and anyway; two boars to be used during stimulation, never only one, and they don’t have to be kept in the same room as the sows, but come to the eros-center paying visit; the photoperiod is the base of physiological behavior, this embraces all from heat to parturition and even lactation.

All operators know the effect of hot season on sow fertility, against negative effects of warmth one can adopt cooling systems, otherwise feed consumption and fertility will be depressed. What is not always clear is the negative effect of decreasing photoperiod going towards autumn, a good practice entails to replace all neon gas lamps in sow rooms on 1st of August so as to counteract the natural die away of light hours and the decaying of lamps’ efficiency that is measurable in “lux” units.

_{Figure 1: Daily photoperiods for various degrees north latitude}

About environment to be taken into account a lot of parameters. There are worldwide governmental laws ruling about space allowance to sows, to contravene is detrimental to welfare and at the end of the day to technical results. Comfort in sow go from 16 to 24° C ( 60 to75°F), a lower temperature imply a higher feed consumption, a higher temperature change of physiological parameters, as quicker breathing and heart beating as signs, and with some negative effects on fertility. Also fluctuating of temperature must be taken care and avoided when wider than 5°C within 24 hours. Together with temperature comes ventilation, the higher the temperature goes the better must ventilation work, to bring oxygen and alleviate hot feeling; and also relative humidity that worsen the feeling of hot (or cold), there is a direct connection between humidity and temperature, as general clue one can take in mind that a relative humidity of 60 to 75 % is welfare range. But for sure the floor must be dry.

Re-bunching of animals have a great impact on fertility as well as many other parameters, in particular feed consumption in the first part of gestation that so much weight have on good establishing and continuation of gestation and recover of sow after lactation, energy intake is a main concern in all phases of production. About formulating of a diet is not difficult to make ready a sow feed, primal is to take care of raw materials and shelf life of stored vitamins.

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