Optimizing gilt development through integrated nutritional and health strategies: A narrative review

This review extracts current evidence on the biological and health determinants of gilt performance, with a focus on management strategies that optimize reproductive efficiency, litter effects, and sow herd longevity. Pre-weaning factors, such as birth weight, colostrum consumption, and pre-weaning growth, have remarkable effects on reproductive organ development and lifetime productivity. The interaction of endocrine and genetic factors determines the onset of puberty and ovarian activity. Health management, such as systematic vaccination, parasite control, biosecurity, and stress mitigation, has emerged as a cornerstone for enhancing gilt resilience, reducing pre-breeding culling, and improving retention rates. Advancements in livestock farming, genomic-assisted selection, and automated monitoring offer new opportunities for incorporating health and performance data into predictive management frameworks, but the extent of their use varies among production systems. Simultaneously, the global need to reduce antimicrobial use underscores the importance of preventive health strategies and welfare-focused management. Despite progress, important knowledge gaps persist regarding the long-term effects of early-life interventions to improve health, as well as health-environment-gene interactions for their role in shaping reproductive trajectories. Addressing these gaps through integrated, health-oriented gilt development programs will be of great importance in improving reproductive outcomes, reducing inefficiencies, and ensuring the sustainability of modern pig production.