EFFECT OF SOWS’ CONDITION ON MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL BLOOD INDICATORS

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of sows’ condition, being expressed as fat reserve – the mean from two measurements (P2 + P4)/2 on the 104th day of pregnancy (±2 – 3 days) on hematological indicators in blood of PLW x PL sows. Classification of sows into two groups was performed on the basis of lifetime evaluation of backfat thickness in 97 sows (primiparous: multiparous – 30%:70%); group I consisted of the sows with (P2 + P4)/2>20 mm and group II with (P2 + P4)/2≤20 mm. The condition of sows, as expressed by backfat thickness in three dates (late pregnancy, parturition, weaning) amounted to >3,5 for group I and ≤2.5 for group II on a 5-point scale. The examination of hematological indicators was performed on a representative group of 32 randomly chosen sows, 16 animals from each group. Blood for analyses was sampled from the sows on the 104th day of pregnancy and on the 21st day of lactation. Any significant differences between group I and II in respect of morphological indices, excluding significantly higher MCV in sows from group I vs. II on the 21st day of lactation (P≤0.05), were not found. In late pregnancy, significant differences were recorded for the content of ALB and TP (P≤0.05), BUN (P≤0.01), HDL (P≤0.001) and in final stage of lactation – HDL (P≤0.01) (higher in group I vs. II). The mean values of the studied blood indicators of the sows were found within the standards for the species, production group and stage of reproduction cycle, irrespectively of the condition of the females.