Breeding characteristics
6 employees and 1 manager for breeding and land
Breeding farm Landrace Axiom and Adénia multiplication
EVEL’UP member
450 sows present
7-band management, weaning in 28 days
Key figures for the year
15.3 weaned per litter
8% losses on live births
11 Kg litter weight at 28 days
86% of Adénias have 16 or more teats
Team testimonial
” The Sarl de Kerbelay team is unanimous: “The Landrace Axiom sow is extra! She can raise and wean a large number of piglets thanks to her genetic potential and her number of teats, 16 minimum in selection for gilts”.
We have an average weight of 7.5kg at 28 days, i.e. 115kg litter weight at weaning over the last 6 months by weaning 15.3 piglets , and this without any artificial feeding system. For selection, we weigh at 19 days and some piglets weigh over 9kg. The Landrace sow is very docile in the maternity ward, reacting very little to any noise. They are also very calm during gestation. Release into the wild, 28 days after AI, goes very smoothly. She’s very robust, and resistant to sudden rises in temperature, and we have a fairly low sow loss rate (3.8% over the last 12 months).
The key factors in achieving this level of performance are: herd homogeneity with control of size from quarantine, sow feeding (4 meals in the maternity unit from D13 to D28), stimulation of all gilts’ teats by systematically putting 16 piglets under them and, of course, lots of observation.
SARL de Kerbelay (56) team
Des performances de haut niveau sur la Landrace et l’Adénia
Des performances en sélection et en multiplication exceptionnelles
| Critères GTTT | 2023 | 01/01 au 30/09/2024 | 01/04 au 30/09/2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sevrés / truie productive / an | 34,8 | 36,1 | 37,1 |
| Nés totaux / portée | 17,5 | 17,3 | 17,3 |
| Nés vivants / portée | 16,5 | 16,4 | 16,6 |
| Sevrés / portée | 14,6 | 15,0 | 15,3 |
| Taux de pertes sur Nés vivants (%) | 11,1 | 8,6 | 8,0 |
| Durée de gestation (jours) | 113,9 | 114,0 | 114,0 |
Distribution of Adenia gilts sorted in 2024
86% of gilts have 16 or more teats!
Expert opinion
Philippe Jegado, Evel’Up Genetic Technician
“Because of its performance, Sarl de Kerbelay sells many Landrace boars to IACs and numerous Landrace and Adénia gilts to producers in France and abroad. When sorting, we pay particular attention to homogeneity, strong legs, and the number and quality of teats.
Of the Landrace sow herd, 53% have 16 teats and 47% have 17 teats or more, and udder quality is maintained very well throughout the career. 86% of Adénia sows have 16 teats or more (average 16.2 since the start of 2024), a huge advantage for weaning the maximum number of piglets under the dam.
Finally, what’s remarkable about this breeding and multiplication operation are the GMQ and IC performances in fattening which, with the production of animals from female lines only (Landrace and Adénia), are at the same level as the average for production breeders”.
Adénia therefore enables us to produce pigs with excellent growth, CI and carcass performance.
Alexia Koch, Axiom Genetic Creation Manager
” The Landrace Axiom has made great strides in recent years thanks to the innovative selection criteria introduced over 5 years ago:
- GMQqmat, a combined criterion for evaluating sows’ dairy aptitudes through the growth rate of the suckled litter, as well as their maternal aptitudes by taking into account losses on live births.
- prolificacy combined with piglet quality by improving piglet uniformity, birth weight and maturity.
Today, with the Landrace Axiom, all piglets can be weaned under the mother.
I have a recent case in point from one of our Landrace breeding farms, with a litter of 21 born alive, 21 weaned under the birth mother, without adoption or artificial feeding.