Introduction to swine medicine Flashcards
swine =
a pig of any age, kept for breeding or production
barrow =
boar =
barrow = a castrated male pig
boar = an uncastrated male pig after puberty, intended for breeding
pigs come into puberty at
6-7 months old
gilt =
sow =
gilt - a female pig after puberty and before farrowing (pig version of a heifer)
sow - an adult female pig, has farrowed at least once
shoat, piglet, suckling pig =
weaner, weanling =
shoat, piglet, suckling pig - a young pig from birth to weaning
weaner, weanling - a pig from weaning to up to ten weeks of age
When are piglets weaned?
4 weeks old, 28 days old
Growing pig =
vs
Finishing pig =
Growing pig = barrows and gilts from approximately 23‐27 kg to 55‐68 kg
Finishing pig = a pig between the age of ten weeks to slaughtering or inseminating age.
But finishing pig can also refer to barrows and gilts from approximately 55‐68 kg to market weight for slaughter (100-150 kg).
yorkshire pig
landrace pig
duroc
(duroc’s get less piglets per pregnancy compared to “white breeds”)
At what age should a gilt first be inseminated?
at approx. 8 months old
Pig gestation length in days.
3 m + 3 w + 3 d
so, 115 days
Ideal piglet litter size.
15-16 piglets
too big a litter means all the piglets will be born to small and weak
too small a little isn’t efficient enough production
How many piglets dying before weaning is “normal”?
2
usually 1 being stillborn or dying shortly after birth, and 1 dying before weaning
What are the Main Pig farm targets (5)
Piglets total per litter
Weaned litters per sow per year
No. of weaned piglets per litter
Weaned piglets per sow per year
No. of litters until culling
16 Piglets total per litter
2.3 Weaned litters per sow per year
No. of weaned piglets per litter = 15
Weaned piglets per sow per year = 30
No. of litters until culling = 5
