Prevalence and Morphometric Evaluation of Cystic Ovaries in Pigs Slaughtered in Tacloban City Abattoir, Philippines

Cystic ovaries could possibly be either a cause or effect of an existing reproductive disorder as influenced by many factors including hormonal, genetic and the environment. Cystic sows can be a salient source of subfertility in the herd while severely affecting farrowing rates and thus profitability in pig operations. Using direct morphological and morphometric examination of 822 ovaries from either pre-pubertal (about 4 months) or post-pubertal (about 1-2 years) pigs slaughtered at Tacloban City abattoir, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and characterize cystic ovaries which can be used as baseline information for further research relevant to polycystic ovarian syndrome and how it affects the pig’s productivity. With the majority of ovaries examined coming from pre-pubertal pigs, our study found a very low prevalence (̴ 0.85%) of cystic ovaries and can be attributed principally to post-pubertal pigs divided between oligocystic (0.61%) and polycystic ovaries (0.24%). As expected, cystic ovaries were much bigger across all dimensions (P≤0.05). Further research should focus on post-pubertal animals particularly those candidates for slaughter due to culling. As sows are likely to perform poorly particularly in the presence of multiple ovarian cysts, skills and technology such as ultrasound for rapid diagnosis is highly required.