ABSTRACT
Premature parturition was induced in 115 of 121 sows (95%) that had been given injections of 150 microgram or 200 microgram of "Estrumate", a prostaglandin analogues, on the 112th and 113th days of gestation. The average time that elapsed between injection and parturition of those 115 animals was 27.2 +/- 7.7 hours, with no difference being observed between gilts, on the one hand, and old sows, on the other. The time of gestation of the treated animals was shortened with significance from 114.6 +/- 1.6 days for the controls to 113.2 +/- 0.4 days. The average duration of parturition proper was 3.7 +/- 2.2 hours, the average litter being 11.2 +/- 3.3 piglets. The total number of piglets born was 1,320, with stillbirths accounting for 4.17%. The average weight at birth, 1,330 +/- 210 g, and the weight at weaning did not differ from weight figures recorded from the controls. The courses of parturition and puerperium were in agreement with normal biological standards. The sows treated were tested for their blood counts close to full term and for their endometrial histomorphology after weaning, with no side effects of "Estrumate" treatment being established. The behaviours of progesterone, 17-beta oestradiol, and cortisol in serum of "Estrumate"-treated sows were investigated, and congruence was established between spontaneous and prostaglandin-induced parturitions, which was in agreement with international literature. The conclusion is that 150 micrograms of 'Estrumate", administered to swine, after the 11th day of gestation has very good labour-inducing effects and ensures normal physiological parturition and piglet development.
