Fertility of sows exposed to zearalenone and deoxynivalenol-a case report.

In a commercial breeding herd of 140 sows, the introduction of a lot of ensiled corn cob mix (CCM) contaminated with 6-11 mg deoxynivalenol and 3-5 mg zearalenone per kg dry matter (DM) into the ration of the pregnant sows and of the gilts immediately decreased its palatability. The contaminated CCM in the ration was reduced from 60% to 40% in the DM after 1 month and was completely eliminated after a further 2.5 months. The reproductive performance data of the herd during the 5 months after the introduction of the contaminated CCM (e.g. 88% non-return rate, 10.2 weaned piglets per litter, no abortion, no pseudopregnancy) were similar to the data obtained for the same period of the previous year. The high mycotoxin exposure thus had no obvious negative effects on fertility.