Breeding characteristics
2 employees for breeding and feed production
COBEVIAL member
180 sows present
AXA sows in multiplication
Production of Venus gilts
7 bands of 24 sows
Weaning 28 days
Key figures for the year
16.1 weaned per litter
120 Kg litter weight at 25 days
114.8 days gestation
Team testimonial
“With 39 piglets weaned per productive sow per year over the last 12 months, I’ve seen a steady upward trend since 2020. The strengths of the AXA GP sow are numerous.
Piglets are very homogeneous at birth. She’s easy to manage, as she consumes very well in the maternity ward. We’re at over 120kg litter weight at 28 days, i.e. 16 piglets weaned under the mother with an average piglet weight of 7.5 to 7.8kg, and this without any artificial feeding system. Some sows even reach a litter weight of 140kg. Numerous functional teats – 17.3 on average – of excellent quality.
Despite the increase in productivity, we maintain the gestation period at 114-115 days. The AXA sow is calm in gestation and maternity. She is solid in plumb and maintains her high level of prolificacy throughout her career. 3 key factors in achieving this level of performance: herd homogeneity, sow feeding (U-shaped curve in gestation and free choice in maternity) and lots of observation!
Xavier Van Den Bossche, manager of EARL de la Cazerie (76)
Exceptional performance, steadily improving since AXA was adopted
| GTTT criteria | 2020-2021 | 2022 | 01/04/2023 to 31/03/2024 | 01/01/2024 to 05/31/2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weaned / productive sow / year | 34,9 | 37,1 | 39,0 | 39,9 |
| Live births/litter | 16,0 | 17,3 | 18,0 | 18,2 |
| Weaned / litter | 14,1 | 15,0 | 15,8 | 16,1 |
| Loss rate for live births (%) | 11,6 | 13,3 | 11,9 | 11,5 |
| Gestation period (days) | 114,5 | 114,5 | 114,7 | 114,8 |
Expert opinion
Mickaël OLIVIER, genetics technician
“I go to Earl de la Cazerie every 3 weeks to sort Venus. These gilts are calm when fattening and easy to handle when sorting. We measure backfat thickness and count teats.
These measurements allow us to confirm that the Venus is well within its target of a lean sow. In terms of teats, the Venuses we’ve checked since the start of the year have an average of 16.3 functional teats, a huge advantage when it comes to weaning the maximum number of piglets under the dam.