Pigs Flashcards
How many tonnes of pigmeat produced worldwide in 2023
122 million tonnes
How many tonnes of meat consumed in 2023
364 million tonnes
FCR of pigs
2.5:1
What % pigmeat made in China
45%
Top 3 pigmeat producers worldwide are…
China, EU, USA
Pig population 2023
~778 million pigs
54% in China
Drop by 16% in 2020 due to African Swine Fever
Biggest exporter of pigmeat in the world
Spain (4.3 million tonnes)
How self sufficient is Ireland and EU?
Ireland 238%
EU 123%
Most pig dense country in EU ?
Denmark
267 pigs per km^2
EU producing how much pigmeat in 2023 & 2024
22 million tonnes
How many breeding sows in Europe?
10 million
How much pigmeat does Ireland export?
4-4.5 million tonnes
What 3 countries do not castrate pigs?
Ireland, UK and Australia
Male pigs are entire
Pigmeat prices in Ireland per kg
€2.30 per kg in Aug 2024
Each sow is producing how much pigmeat per year?
2.5 tonnes, aiming to produce 3t
Slaughter weight in Ireland 2023
89.3kg deadweight @ 26 weeks, 116.8kg live weight
In 2022, what % of Gross Agricultural Output(GAO) was pigs
5%
1. Milk, 2. Cattle and Calves, 3. Cereals, 4. Pigs
Irish pig population
140,000 sows, 1.54 million pigs
Avg herd size in Ireland 2023
864 sows
Irish pigmeat exports
240,000t valued at €870m
2 parts to the pig processing sector
Production and processing
Verticalisation
Own all of the supply chain stages, eg. owning the pigs and the slaughtering plants.
Pigmeat imports
81,000 tonnes
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licence
Required for more than 285 sows
Manure storage minimum capacity
Minimum capacity 26 weeks
What % of sows are housed outdoors in UK?
25%
Loose farrowing crates by what year?
2027
What % of pigs in Ireland are fed using home mixers
45%
MLI
Maternal Line Index
TLI
Terminal Line Index
BLUP
(Best Linear Unbiased Predictor): Tool used to predict the genetic merit of animals based on their on farm performance for a group of traits of economic importance to the pig industry
Heritability
Measures the fraction of phenotype variability that can be attributed to genetic variation
What % of sows in Ireland are AI’d?
~85%
Conception rates
~92%
Typical lactation length
21-28 days
Service interval
5-6 days
Litters/yr, pigs/litter, pigs/sow/yr
2.31 litters/year, 14.3 pigs/litter, 27.5 pigs/sow/yr
Avg weaning age in Ireland
Has gone up to 30-31 days
Ovulation rate determines…
The litter size born
90% of sows back in heat within how many days
5-6 days
Non-productive days per litter and per year
14 days per litter, 31-36 days per year
Productive periods
Pregnancy and lactation
Unproductive periods
Selection to first conception, weaning to conception, final weaning to culling or death
Farrowing rate %
88-90%
(No. females farrowing/No. females served) x 100
No. productive sows
(No. farrowing crates available x 52)/Farrowing index
Ideal backfat/BCS
18mm backfat BCS 3
How many hours of light do sows need to minimise weaning to service interval?
14 hours of light >250lux
Fractionated weaning
Weaning heavier pigs earlier than the lighter pigs
Summer infertility syndrome
More repeats during the summer
Sows that are anabolic for 5 to 6 days before weaning will likely return to oestrus within how many days after weaning?
4-6 days
Length of oestrus
68.8 hours (8-196 hours)
When is peak fertility?
When bred 10 hours before ovulation
How long does it take for ejaculated sperm to capacitate and become capable of penetrating and fertilising the egg
6-8 hours
Lifespan of sperm and egg
Sperm - 24 hours
Egg - 6 hours
At what stages of oestrus are the 2 services recommended?
At first sign of standing heat and 24 hours later
Sows served late in oestrus results in?
Decrease in farrowing rate
Breeding or AI after ovulation may cause what?
Uterine infections
Uterine immune response is greater during what period of the oestrous cycle?
During early to mid oestrus
What is the best way of increasing the sows levels of oxytocin?
Boar stimulation
AI must be done in the presence of…?
The boar
Modern sow is producing how many kg milk per day?
12-15kg
Aim of birthweight for large healthy litters?
> 1.2kg
How much weight will a gilt gain during gestation?
About 65kg
What can happen if sows are overfed during early pregnancy?
Cause an increase in embryonic mortality due to decreased plasma progesterone concentrations
Optimal BCS of sow?
BCS 3 or 18mm backfat
Feed requirement for sows in pregnancy?
13.5-13.6 MJ/kg
Replacement/culling rate in Ireland?
52-53%
Conditions for a successful gilt? Age, weight, backfat depth
Age: 220-230 days
Weight: 130-140kg
Backfat depth: 16-18mm
Sow feed requirement after farrowing?
2kg for sow + 0.5kg per piglet
Upper Critical Temperature (UCT) Sows
18-20oC
Lower Critical Temperature (LCT) Piglet
34oC
Each 1oC increase in temperature above the sow’s UCT causes how much of a decrease per degree in g and MJ DE
150g/degree or 2.4MJ DE per degree decrease in feed intake
Minimum requirement of water for a sow per day
20L per day
Lactating sow diet specifications?
14 DE MJ/kg and 1.0-1.1% lysine
Pregnant sow diet specifications?
13 MJ DE/kg and 0.55-0.6% lysine
Weaning weight target?
7.5-8kg
ADG of piglets at weaning?
285g/day
Main Components of Sows Milk
DM 19-20%
CP 5.6%
Fat 10.1%
Lactose 4.9%
What is agalacta?
Where sows don’t let down milk
How often does milk let down by the sow occur?
Once per hour, 24 times a day
At each milk let down, milk is flowing for how long?
15-30 seconds
Pre-weaning mortality in Ireland %?
11.3%
What % of total mortality in pig production occurs before weaning?
95%
Piglets with a weight under 900 g have a survival rate of what?
Between 42% and 50%
How long does it take for unused mammary glands to dry off?
Up to 3 days
Pre-partum and intrapartum stillborn piglets %
Pre-partum (20%) and Intrapartum (80%)
Umbilical cord length?
80cm
Measure of suffocation?
Blood lactate level
DM of sows colostrum?
23.4% DM
DM of sows milk?
~20% DM
Importance of creep feeding?
Development of the digestive system of the piglet so that its better able to cope with the trauma of weaning and associated nutritional changes.
What % of enzymes do piglets have at weaning age?
50%, takes 10 weeks to reach max maturity
Piglets being creep fed helps increase what enzymes in the stomach?
HCl and pepsin
What happens to the villi of the piglet at weaning?
Tall and slender and then small and stunted after weaning
Creep diet is what % milk-based?
45-50%
Transfer of immunity from sow to piglet?
Through antibodies in colostrum, no transfer in-utero
Target weight 4 weeks post weaning?
18-19kg
Larger villi leads to…?
Increased absorption and increased digestive enzymes
Roughly how long does it take for piglets to get their feed intake back up to where it was before weaning?
About 10 days
Barrier function
Only let through glucose, amino acids, fatty acids, water, vitamins, and minerals
Beneficial gut bacteria?
Lactobacillus
Pathogenic gut bacteria?
Salmonella, E.coli
Dysbiosis definition?
Where pathogenic bacteria outnumber the healthy bacteria, causing diarrhoea
A sick pig has a reduction in feed intake by?
13-15%
Disease can influence appetite by what %
30%
Why is there no soyabean meal in small pig diets?
Causes scour
Recommendations floor space per pig
Allow 0.185 sq. m (2sq ft) of floor area per pig.
Liquid feed ratio
Mix water together with feed at a ratio of 2/3:1
Acidified liquid feed given to which group of pigs?
Pigs very poor at creating hydrochloric acid after weaning
Second stage weaner weight
18-38kg
What % of feed costs goes towards the finishers diet?
60%
Pigs can reach what weight in 25-27 weeks?
118kg
FCR definition?
Amount of feed required to put on 1kg of growth
FCR of suckling pig, first stage, 20kg, 100kg?
Suckling pig – 1:1
First stage – 1.5:1
20kg – 2:1
100kg – 2.8:1 (optimum 2.4:1)
Growth represents…
Represents the accumulation of lean and fat in the body
Base amount of lean a pig should have?
54%
Every +/- 1% lean -> +/- 2.5 cents/kg
Lean composition (water, protein and lipid content)?
74-76% water, 20-22% protein, 4% lipid
How many MJ ME is required to deposit 1kg protein?
44.1MJ ME
How many MJ ME is required to lay down 1kg lean tissue?
11.85MJ ME
How many MJ ME is required to lay down 1kg fatty tissue?
48MJ ME
What % of costs of pig production does feeding account for?
70-75%
If a pig is not fed properly…
They will deposit fat rather than lean, won’t grow to true potential, won’t grade properly
At what stage does a pig stop producing lean tissue and start laying down fat?
When a pig reaches its genetic potential
When pigs are castrated, their ability to lay down lean tissue is reduced by what %?
About 15%
What % of growth rate in the pig is protein deposition?
17.1%
Eg. 1000g ADG is 171g protein deposited per day
Maximum protein deposition is how many kg?
80kg
Depending on severity of disease, protein deposition can be reduced by up to what %?
50%
What happens when you overfeed lysine?
Slows down growth
What % of N that is fed, is retained by the pig?
33.6% N, other 66% is excreted
Requirements for growth?
Maintenance, lean tissue growth, and fat deposition
Peak ADG in Ireland and range of ADG?
940-950g/day (860-1000g)
How many g lysine should be fed per kg growth rate?
25g lysine per kg growth rate
Lysine requirement calculation?
Growth rate per day x 25g lysine = lysine required in diet per day
Eg. 60kg pig = 1.1kg growth rate x 25g lysine = 27.5g lysine
As the pig gets older does lysine requirement increase or decrease?
Lysine requirement decreases as pig gets older
Excess lysine fed is wasted once a pig reaches what bodyweight?
50kg
3 types of feeding?
Single diet approach, split diet approach, and phase feeding
How many different diets can be in phased feeding?
Up to 4 different diets, reducing N excretion, costing less, pigs performing better
What % of the total energy requirement goes to maintenance?
40%
By lowering the amount of protein in the diet, this can reduce odour by up to what %?
40%
Ideal lysine, MJ DE/kg and MJ NE/kg in a pig’s diet 20-38kg?
1.3-1.4% lysine, 14.5 MJ DE/kg, 10.3 MJ NE/kg
Ideal lysine, MJ DE/kg and MJ NE/kg in a pig’s diet 38-65kg?
1.15% lysine, 14 MJ DE/kg, 9.9 MJ NE/kg
Ideal lysine, MJ DE/kg and MJ NE/kg in a pig’s diet 65-95kg?
1.0% lysine, 13.8 MJ DE/kg, 9.8 MJ NE/kg
Ideal lysine, MJ DE/kg and MJ NE/kg in a pig’s diet 95-115kg?
0.9% lysine, 13 MJ DE/kg, 9.25 MJ NE/kg
Limitations of pig performance?
Unable to consume adequate nutrients, Pig is unhealthy or stresses
Optimum water:meal ratio for feeding?
2.5:1
What is the Venturian effect?
Where you get movement of air from below the slats upwards
What can be a cause of tail biting?
Drafts in houses
A cold pig (10oC) has a higher maintenance requirement of about what %?
68%
Every fattening pig needs how much space?
1m^2
What % weight will a finisher pig gain?
62.5% of its overall weight
What is the weight at the start of the finishing phase
38.7kg
What is the average weight of a pig at slaughter
110kg
What is the kill out % of a finisher pig?
76.4%
What is the main factor in determining the growth potential of a finisher pig?
Breed and genetic potential
What’s the best feeding practice to minimise wastage
Restrict feeding by phase feeding
Explain phase feeding approach
Phase feed drop diet specification every 15kg of gain to minimise wastage
What is the common feeding method used in Ireland
Split diet approach
Factors determining feed intake on pig farms
Genetics, health, environmental, economics, management
What is an Anemometer
Measures draughts
How is ammonia measured
Drager tubes
What is the optimum ammonia levels in pig units
25ppm
What is the temperature of a finisher house
21oC
Optimum no. of pigs per pen
16-18
Which sex has a higher kill out %?
Ad lib females
What is the daily feed intake of a finisher pig(110kg)?
3kg (2.7% bodyweight)
Composition of fat? (lipid, water, protein content)
88% lipid, 10% water, 2% protein
