The study aimed to investigate changes in semen parameters of insemination boars of selected breeds with reference to seasonal changes in the properties of ejaculates in the European boar (Sus scrofa L.). The material for the study covered 88000 ejaculates obtained from boars of the following breeds: Polish Large White, Polish Landrace, Duroc, Hampshire, Pietrain, Duroc×Pietrain, Pietrain×Duroc. The results of the research indicate that seasonal changes in the quality of the produced ejaculates, similar to those occurring in the males of the wild boar, still occur in insemination boars. The observed changes concern above all the volume of the ejaculates, the total number and concentration of spermatozoa. Seasonal variation in the quality of the produced ejaculates is fixed and has not decreased in the recent years despite the conducted breeding activities, selection and the limitation of the influence of environmental factors.

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The effectiveness of breeding boars in insemination depends mainly on the skill of optimal use of their reproductive potential. Nevertheless, their semen is hig...

The aim of the conducted research was to determine the impact of factors such as sex hormone levels, which vary during gilts’ reproductive cycle, on the quality of the obtained meat and slaughter characteristics of the processed gilts. The research material included a population of 60 gilts slaughtered in one of the slaughterhouses located in south-eastern Poland. After the slaughtering operations were completed, the carcasses were weighed at the classification stand. The results of the statistical evaluation of the haematological and biochemical blood parameters of the examined gilts showed that, in the tested blood samples, the concentration of progesterone had a statistically significant impact only on the level of total protein, which was higher in the blood samples of gilts with a low concentration of progesterone. It was found that carcasses of gilts with higher levels of the LH hormone were characterized by a lower meat content index by nearly 3%. It was shown that the concentration of LH affected the post-slaughter temperature of the sirloin and ham muscles. The interpretation of the obtained data was difficult since there seems to be a gap in the literature concerning the dependencies of sex hormone levels in gilts and meat quality.