Pigs Flashcards
how many pigs are on the piggery?
46,000
what breeds do they use at the piggery?
Landrace crossed with large white
Why are these breeds used?
Landrace pigs produce good quality meat and Large white produce good templament, prolific , maternal instant pigs
how is breeding done?
By AI- every Monday and Tuesday the sows and gilts are AI’d
What are the gilts given?
PG600 five days before sows come into heat to synchronise heat cycles
What happens when sows and gilts are being served?
boars tease ones are placed in front of them to ensure they stand correctly to receive AI.
Each week how many sows were AI’d
100 roughly
how many sows each week recieve premium AI?
25
How do they differentiate what sows get premium AI?
-piglets per year
-BCS at weaning
-Mothering ability
-Number of lactations
-Age
how do you know they received the premium AI?
Notch in ear at birth
Steps to AI
-Clean vulva
-Insert catheter
-Connect to pouch
-Wait for it to empty which could take a few mins
-Backs are shaved and marked for identification.
-Redone 24 hours later.
When are farrowing houses cleaned?
Every Thursday after weaning
When do sows enter the farrowing house ?
Friday morning after there let air dry
What are the farrowing houses equipped with?
Sleeves and oxytocin
how many sows are moved to the farrowing house every Friday?
90-100
When are the sows due to start farrowing?
the Monday after they enter the farrowing houses
Whats the temperature of the farrowing house?
25 degrees
how many piglets are born on average per sow?
14 piglets
what weight is a piglet at birth on average?
1.3kg
What can be injected into sows when farrowing?
-Oxytocin after the 9th sow usually and afterwards to help pass afterbirth.
If weak piglets are born what are they given sometimes?
Oral glucose
How much colostrum should a piglet receive at birth?
150-200mls averagely
What temperature is the heat lamp at?
30 degrees
How long do piglets stay in farrowing crate with their mothers?
4 weeks
What is the diet of piglets in farrowing units?
- Majority mothers milk
- at 7 days of age they introduced to creep feed
-3 weeks old intro to wet feed
What common issues lead to mortality in the farrowing unit?
-piglets born weak 40-50%
-piglets crushed 20-30%
-piglets starvation 40-50%
When piglets are born under 900g whats their changes of survival?
and why do they die?
40-50%
As they struggle to get enough colostrum - vulnerable to hypothermia. Its important to use breeds that produce high performance piglets to reduce this issue.
Why does scour occur in young piglets in the farrowing unit?
due to
CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGES in LI after introduced to creep feed
If piglets get scour in farrowing units, what is solution?
Add potato starch to the water
What sort of creep feed is the piglets introduced to at 7 days of age?
-10mm pellets to ensure high consumption rates
What’s the Nutritional Info on the pellets in the farrowing unit?
(8 things)
CP 20%
CO 6%
CF 5%
CA 6%
Calc 0.9%
Phos 0.7%
Ly 1.15%
Sodi 0.2%
What protein percentage in pellets? In the farrowing units?
20%
What lysine % in pellets in the farrowing units?
1.15%
At 3 weeks old, why are the piglets introduced to wet feed?
-Ensure a smooth transition to stage 1 feed.
-Increased weight gain.
Composition of wet feed in farrowing units:
(5 things)
-Starter 88
-Dried yeast
-Iron power
-Kefir yogurt
Starter 88 composition:
CP 17.2%
Lysine 1.3%
When are tails cut and injected?
Mondays
Tuesdays
Fridays
How many litters each week got tails cut and injections?
12-20 liters
How many days old are the piglets before their tails are cut?
3 days old, same for injection
What injection do the piglets receive at 3 days old?
-What dosage
-Why is it important , what are you trying to prevent?
- 1.5ml Unifern- iron injection
-Its important as piglets have low iron stores at birth due to poor transfer of iron from the placenta to the foetus - trying to prevent anaemia
Weaker smaller piglets receive what in follow up weeks?
Another dose of unifern 1-2 weeks after initial
When pigs are being weaned at 4 weeks old whats the highest weight and the lowest weight?
-4kg
-8kg
What other vaccinations do the piglets receive in the farrowing unit, and when?
Why do they get it?
-0.2ml of PCV ID and Mycoplasma
-1 week before they are weaned.
-Its to protest against a enzootic pneumonia that’s a common respitory disease in pigs
What can this pneumonia lead to?
hidden or subclinical infection
Automatic feeders at bradys : Explain !
-unwanted bred, put into tank mixed with water from the roof and stored until needed.
-Blends mixture with appropriate meal when needed in houses.
How many fit in a group in the dry sows shed ?
16
Names of different tanks:
-Grower
-Link
-Fattening
What feed do dry sows get?
Every morning they receive wet feed once a day.
What is in the feed that the dry sows are on?
-Bread
-Water
-Whey protein
-Dry sow meal
-Farrowing meal
Whats the composition of the dry sow meal?
Feeding regime of sows that are approaching farrowing:
they are on a curve- 2.5kg of feed thats increased to 3.5kg from day 80-100 of gestation
this is adjusted back to 2.2kg 10 days before farrowing
-they are fed individually in farrowing houses. They get fed twice daily accompanied by wet feed.
what does the wet feed in the farrowing house include for sows?
-water
-bread
-whey protein
-dry sow meal
-farrowing meal
List sows reproductive cycle:
-Sow in heat will stand
-Gestation 115 days
-Farrows
-Suckles for 4 weeks (28 days)
-Weaned
-Mating 5 days after weaning
How long is a sows production cycle?
148-150 days
What are large white pigs known for?
-growth rate and litter size
Talk about large white pigs:
-Females mature at 300kg
Carcass of 58-60% lean meat
-Puberty at 180 days
Land race -talk about it
-dual purpose (2 types)
-crosses well with other breeds
-Good farrowing, large liter sizes
-Good carcass weight- ideal amount of finish
What can be an issue with pigs/piglets?
PSS- Porcine sudden death syndrome (Halothane negative)
Whats the rule of thumb with lysine?
25 grams of lysine per kg of growth rate
When are guilts bred?
220-230 days old at 130 kg or in there 3rd oestrous period
What do guilts need to come into puberty?
14 hours of light
What are guilts fed ?
they are fed on single space feeders
- 2.5-4.0kg of 13% digestible energy and 8grams/kg of lysine
how many piglets are in the stage 1 pens ?
50
how are the stage one piglets fed?
through automatic feeders, but the E piglets also receive vigour pellet meal to support weight gain.
Whats the % in stage 1 feed:
18% protein and 1.2% lysine.
How many is in a pen in stage 2 weaners?
35
What diet is stage 2 weaners on?
Week one is the same feed as stage one and then they are transitioned to a bred mix that is also fed to fatteners
Stage two feed thats the same as fatteners: Composition: (ingredients not %)
-Bread
-Whey protein
-Grower meal
-Fattener meal
-Link meal
% and composition of stage 2 and fatteners diet:
Crude protein 17%
Crude oil 6%
Crude fiber 5.5%
Lysine 1.15%
How many are in the pens for fatteners?
20 pigs
How much feed do fatteners get?
3-4kg per day , for every 3kg is 1 kg of weight gain
how much do the fatteners gain per day?
1-1.5kg per day
how long do fatteners stay ?
12 weeks
whats the target slaughter weight?
100-120kg
How often is the dry sow meal topped up?
twice daily
How much lysine does the guilts get in their feed?
1.2%
What vaccine is administered to prevent wasting disease? when is it given?
-Cirovac
-2ml
-3-6 weeks before farrowing or AI
What are the fans good for?
Circulation of the controlled temperature
Temp in farrowing units?
25 degrees
Temp in stage 1 weaners ?
30 degrees which gradually drops to 26 degrees
Temp in stage 2 weaners ?
26 which gradually drops to 21 degrees
-Temp in fattening unit
-Dry sow house
-Guilt house
21 degrees
% culling of sows
45%
Litter/sow/year
2.35
pigs/sow/year
27.5
Average size of litter born
14.8 piglets
The average size of litter at weaning
is 13.6 piglets
At weaning age
4 weeks
weight at weaning
4-8kg
weight at sale
100-120kg
Age at sale
6/7 months
How many fatteners are taken to factory each week
1200
Composition of Dry sow diet:
Portein:
Lysine:
Dry sows and farrowing sows on same diet why? :
To try and maintain BCS
Farrowing sows also get another feed what is it?
Suckling meal 1.8kg
How do you know if a sow is coming into heat?
Mounting behaviors
Vocilasation
Swollen red vulva
Raised tail
Decreased appitite
Stage 2 weaners feed composition and fattners:
Transitioned to a bread mix, also fed to fattners, includes soyabean meal
wheat, barley,maize
CP- 17%
Lysine- 1.15%
Crude fibre- 5.5%
Guilt feed and farrowing
pigs feed composition:
17% crude fibre
0.9-1% lysine
bread, farrowing meal, dry sow meal.
Soyabean meal
what % protein is in soyabean meal?
45%
What % protein is stage 1 weaners
