Pig

Question 1

ancestry of the pig

Answer 1

family suidae, genus sus
species: sus scrofa (wild boar), many types from this: domesticated pig, west africa-, north asia and japan-, indian wild boar. banded pig

Question 2

domesticated and feral pigs

Answer 2

• *around 5000BC** in near ear/china/mediterranean region.
• *Feral pigs = s. scrofa, wild boar** de-domesticated bigs can cause substantial environmental damage as they have omnivorous diet, aggressive behavior, rooting - damage eco system. on list of 100 most invasive spp.

Question 3

consequences of domestication (microevolutionary changes)

Answer 3

• *ears** in wild boar are upright, but now drooping in many breeds
• *wild boar** has compact body, long-narrow heat and snout, long legs, short straight tail and male may have tusks
• *pig** has small snout, eyes and tail which may be curly kinkled or straight, thick body and short legs.

Question 4

size and feeding - microev.

Answer 4

male wild: 80-90, female, 55-70kg
pig males can go up to 200kg.
both pig and wild boar are omnivores, the wild boar hunts at night

Question 5

reprod. microev.

Answer 5

late (18m) vs early (5-6m) puberty, went from sesonal monoestrus to polyestrus. from 4-6 to 8-12 piglets. both have excellent smell, but the vision is less developed in the pig.

Question 6

describe the use of pigs

Answer 6

food, leather, brushes, medicine (lab animals, transplants - organs similar to humans, bakteria production, earlier insulin production), foraging (smell - truffle hunting)

meat: 38% of meat intake worldwide, jewish and muslim - unclean animal

Question 7

imp. products of the pig

Answer 7

• *bacon** - any cut from sides, belly or back that can be cured/smoked
• *ham -** thigh and rump
• *lard -** pig fat used in soap

Question 8

fattening of the pig

Answer 8

at around 40-50 days at 10kg the fattening starts. 90 days = 30kg. bone tissue develop fastest then muscle and then fat.

fattening for 125 days at 800-900g/day. end weight around 100-110-130kg.

Question 9

different types of pigs for their meat prod, their size

Answer 9

• *ham hog(pig):** 75-100kg
• *bacon**: 90kg
• *meat**: 110-120kg
• *salami**: 140kg
• *fat hog:** 180kg

Question 10

castration impact on meat

Answer 10

decreases feed conversion, and boar sting of male pork increase (manure, onion - not for human consumption)

Question 11

different cuts of the pig

Answer 11

foot (toes), leg (fl/hl), ham, belly, chop, loin, spare ribs, shoulder, leg, collar, head

Question 12

weight of carcass vs. slaugter. age

Answer 12

160-175 days at slaugter - 90-110-130kg -> 76kg (75% remains)

Question 13

fat distribution of the pig

Answer 13

subcutaneous - bacon
organ/abdominal fat
inter, intra-muscular
intracellular fat

Question 14

the (beef) qualification system

Answer 14

(superior)SEUROP(poor): convex is good - straight - concave (double) musle)

carcass fat rating 1-3: weak/light/average coverage of muscle

• appearance, odour, taste, tenderness, succulent, pH

Question 15

puberty and breeding maturity

Answer 15

• *puberty**: 5-7months
• *breeding maturity**: 8-9months -> farrowing (birthing) at 12-14 months

genetal development and maturity is more important than weight!

Question 16

main reprod features of the pig

Answer 16

• *early puberty, wide range in litter size, continous breeding,** 1st heat at around 5-6months is often silent! biostimulation and pheramonal effects are important
• *rapid weight gain(GH) has neg. correlation with sexual development (FSH, LH)**

Question 17

raising piglets

Answer 17

monitoring for illnesses parasites, drink 8-20L water per day, constant feeding or set times, fresh pastures, shelter from sun and rain

Question 18

heat signs and measure

Answer 18

2-3 days, symptoms sim. to horse. back pressure test fro heat detection. mating/AI is performed prior to or around ovilation - 2x in 24h

Question 19

gestation of the pig

Answer 19

short, maintained by porcine placental lactogen. sensitive to stressors!

(rectal palp., hormone measure, sonography)

Question 20

selection of sows in breeding

Answer 20

weight up to 85-95kg, fat and muscle measurements, conformation (muscling, teat no.)

Question 21

selection of boars in breeding

Answer 21

weight gain, (fat/muscle measurements (fleshing), conformation (testicle circumference, fertility, semen quality), health - hereditary disorders, test mating

Question 22

estimation of the breeding value of boars and sows

Answer 22

own performance, using BLUP: unbiased estimate of the breeding value of parents, mature siblings/half siblings

Question 23

breeding value estimate

Answer 23

daily gain average, prolificacy etc.

• economical, production (ebv’s) traits are collected in SMI
• ebv’s for fertility is collected in IFI

Question 24

name the 4 main groups of breeds

Answer 24

• *large white**: maternal breeds: erect ears, bacon, good growth and meat, very fertile, stress resistant
• *landrace** - belgian landrace: maternal: drooping ears, bacon, large, long body and snout
• *color**: (hamshire, pietrain, duroc, mangalitsa): meaty, lean, good growth, may be prone to stress
• *asian**: (meishan, vietnamese lop-eared) smaller and less prolific than european!

(hybrids)

Question 26

preserving pure breeds

Answer 26

pure breeding w/o close inbreeding! mantinance and regular selection to preserve breed for the future

line breeding in pigs may be a problem as inbreeding depression may occur

Question 27

crossbreeding

Answer 27

grading up is rarely used. single cross for breed improvement to preserve valuble characteristics, and introduce new ones -> gene immegration!

Question 28

hybridization

Answer 28

to optimize meat production!

discontinous - all are slaughtered. e.g. direct/single hybr.: landrace sow x large white boar. can also be indirect/ two breed back cross, 3 breed cross, 4 breed double cross ⇒need more space, heterosis, genotype

continous: keep the best for replacement: rotational is used! or two way cross where offspring is only used for production

Question 29

piggeries, hig lots

Answer 29

factory farms specialised in raising pigs up for slaugter (weight) - intensive pig farming

• growth/fattening inndoors
• pregnant sows: in stalls, farrowing crates for birth

ventilation and heating is imprtant - lack sweat glands!
tail docking teeth clipping, castration - all to decrease agressive behaviour!

Question 30

alternative free range methods

Answer 30

animal welfare - natural behaviour can be expressed

(less economical, environmental impacts, worms/parasites, dep. on local conditions and skilled staff availability)

pink skinned are best for out doors - better with heat stress

Question 31

newborn piglets

Answer 31

no antibody protection! body have fat energy for 1 day. cannot reg body temp until a few days. new-borns can be divided into normal and disadvantaged

Question 32

weaning of pigs

Answer 32

• *early or late:** 25-42 days
  important: comfort(25c), clean, keep litter together to decr. risk of certain diseases (streptococcus) and stress (hierarcy), tasty food for weaning, organic acid solutions to disinfect feed and water - prone to infections!!

Question 33

groups of pig breeds - body composition

Answer 33

lard type: poland-china, mulefoot: compact bodies, large hams, heavy fat layer

bacon and meat: longer bodies and legs, less fat: white pig breeds (maternal)

dual-purpose: large black, saddlebackls: different meat type production (bacon and “pork”)