Breeding characteristics
Collective maternity hospital for 6 partners
4.5 employees (including one apprentice)
Adénia* sows Pietrain Axiom
750 sows, 30 sows/band
21 bands weaning 28 days
Key figures for the year
14.5 weaned per litter
Team testimonial
In 2 years, we’ve gone from 12.9 weaners/sow to 14.5 weaners/sow between 7.5 and 8kg.
The collective maternity unit at La Perrière has noted the evolution of Adénia’s genetic potential over the last few years. “Birth weights are excellent, averaging 1.42kg, and some sows have reached 33kg litter weight while maintaining an individual birth weight of 1.4kg. […] Adenia sows are prolific, calm and maternal. They give birth on their own, often at night, and we intervene very little. The last farrowing took place last Thursday, and we had no crushes over the weekend, with 14.5 piglets under the mothers on Monday, in standard maternity boxes. They are capable of raising 18, even 19 piglets in the first few days without any problems.
The number of live-born piglets has risen, but live-born losses continue to fall. The target of 400 piglets per week is now well within reach.
“We’ve learned to exploit the potential of the Adenia. In 2 years, we’ve gone from 12.9 weaners/sow to 14.5 weaners/sow between 7.5 and 8kg. This has been made possible by a great team, the switch to a soup machine in January 2024, and a diet better adapted to the Adénia’s potential. Good genetics go hand in hand with good feeding.
SCEA La Perrière team
Increased performance thanks to autonomous Adenia and good breeding practices
| GTTT criteria | 02/2023 à 03/2024 | 02/2024 à 03/2025 | 01/2025 à 03/2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live births/litter | 16,6 | 16,7 | 17,2 |
| Weaned / litter | 12,9 | 13,8 | 14,5 |
| Loss rate for live births (%) | 22 | 17,3 | 15,8 |
| Fertility rate (%) | 92,4 | 90,1 | 92,3 |
Expert opinion
Marion CAVRET, Axiom sales engineer
The economic success of a group farrowing facility is based on two main criteria: weaning a maximum number of homogeneous, high-quality piglets to produce butchers with excellent feed efficiency and the heaviest, leanest, most muscular carcasses possible. The Adénia is the most balanced sow in our range in terms of these two criteria.
In addition to these economic criteria, its gestation period of 114 days means that weekend work can be kept to a minimum, and its farrowing autonomy means that employees can work weekday hours from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Adénia is the gilt designed to combine technical and economic performance with employee working comfort.
Ideal for collective maternity facilities, Adénia is the gilt designed to combine technical and economic performance with employee working comfort.
The keys to success?
Good measures from ELDs
ELD (backfat thickness) is measured on entering and leaving quarantine, at weaning, at ultrasound and in the maternity ward. Sows are sorted according to ELD at weaning to ensure a suitable feeding curve (4 possible curves).
Between 12 and 14 mm at weaning
15 mm on ultrasound
Between 17 and 19 mm in maternity
Attention at every stage
- Ages at first farrowing average 380 days, with a monthly delivery of gilts from an air-filtered multiplier.
- 7 gilts introduced/bundle.
- Heat detection in quarantine and more time spent in quarantine for taming. The “gilt monitoring” job is a separate position in the work organization.