“Gilts can be the best reproductive performers on the farm in terms of conception rates and farrowing rates --- if they are not the best, there’s an opportunity there for us to go work on” For larger sow systems, a group-based gilt preparation process from weaning at 6 kilograms to breeding at 135 kg is detailed in this conversation in the United States with Dr. Clayton Johnson, veterinarian partner and Director of Health at Carthage Veterinary Services. Health acclimation should begin as early as possible, he tells us. Ideally therefore, bring prospective herd replacement gilts into an isolation barn when they are weaned. Groups would consist of four weeks’ worth of gilts, with the animals tagged to identify their birth week. Isolation is followed by time in a developer barn, until gilts weighing at least 120 kg when showing first oestrus are judged ready to move to the gestation area.