A metric used in livestock breeding, particularly in swine and dairy operations, to track how many litters or calves a female has delivered. Animals are grouped by their parity number to manage nutrition, predict milk yield, and determine culling schedules. A first-parity sow is a gilt having her first litter, while higher-parity animals are older, proven mothers.
Heard on the job
Move all the parity three sows into the farrowing crates by Tuesday.
Insider tip
Productivity usually peaks around parity three or four in swine, after which litter sizes and weaning weights often begin to decline.