Swine Flashcards
What is a breeding male pig called?
Boar
What is a breeding female pig called?
Sow
What is a female pig that has not bred called?
Gilt
What is a castrated male pig called?
Barrow
What is the normal body temperature of a pig?
101.6 - 103.6
What is the gestation period for a pig?
114 (3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days)
What is the estrous cycle for a pig?
21 days
What is the phylum of a pig?
Chordata
What is the subphylum of a pig?
Vertebrata
What is the class of a pig?
Mammalia
What is the order of a pig?
Artiodactyla
What is the suborder of a pig?
Suina
What is the family of a pig?
Suidae
What is the genus of a pig?
Sus
What is the species of a pig?
Scrofa domesticus
Which country is the biggest producer of pork?
China
What is the average size of a pigs litter?
10-11 pigs
True or False: Pigs can’t sweat
True
Years ago, the US bred these the 2 Types of hog categories
Lard type breeds - Fat
Bacon type - Bacon
Now they are both meat type hogs
Miniature pig breeds
Smaller than traditional swine breeds
60-150 lbs at maturity
Some can be between 200-250 lbs
Some can be used for meat production
Breeds: Vietnamese pot belly, Mulefoot Hog, Teacup/Miniature pigs
Lifestyle Cycle of Market Pig stages
Gestation
Farrowing
Nursery
Growing and Fishing
What happens during Gestation?
- Gilts (female pigs) reach maturity and are bred at 170 to 220 days of age.
- After delivering their first litter of pigs, gilts are called sows.
- Gestation (pregnancy) is about 114 days, or 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days.
What happens during Farrowing?
Farrowing: 21 days (3 weeks)
- Sows and gilts are moved to a farrowing barn when ready to give birth (farrow).
- Usually, a sow or gilt will have 12 to 13 pigs per litter.
- 2-3 lbs at birth
- Sows nurse piglets until they are weaned at about 21 days of age.
- 13-15 lbs at weaning
What happens during Nursing?
Nursery: 42-56 days (6-8 weeks)
- After weaning, piglets are moved to a nursery or to a wean-to-finish barn and are housed with piglets from other litters.
- Specialized temperature controls and ventilation support the newly weaned piglets.
- Piglets are fed a corn/soybean meal diet, eating 1.4 to 4 lbs per day.
- In this phase, pigs grow 50-60 lbs.
- 50-60 lbs after nursery phase
What happens as they grow and are finished?
Growing and Finishing: 115-120 days (16-17 weeks)
- Pigs are moved from the nursery to a finishing barn to accommodate their continued growth. If pigs are in a wean-to-finish barn, they remain there.
- In the grow/finish phase, pigs consume 6-10 lbs of feed daily.
- A diet typically consists of corn and soybean meal, as well as vitamins and mineralds to ensure proper health and growth of the pigs.
- As the pigs grow, they are monitered daily to ensure that they are healthy.
- At about 6 months of age, the pigs weigh about 280 lbs and are then market ready.
What performance information is checked?
Reproductive efficiency, growth rate and efficiency, and carcass traits.
What economically important measures are checked?
Days to 150 lbs
Average daily gain (ADG)
Feed efficiency
What data is collected when looking at market ready pigs?
Back-fat thickness (live
Carcass fat depth
Loin eye area
Pounds of lean pork
Loin muscle color, firmness, and marbling
Benefits of Artificial Insemination in Swine
The greatest advantage of artificial insemination (AI) is the opportunity to use genetically superior boars.
Allows for breeding year round and less injury to female
Fresh semen (not frozen) is used extensively by all segments of the industry.
What type of food do mono-gastrics need?
Require high-energy feeds
Corn and soybean meal based feeds
Free choice access to water
What feeding practices are there?
- Uniform practices
- Automated
- Growing and finishing pigs are fed for ad libitum intake.
- Other classes of hogs are usually fed a limited amount of feed consistent with the production function.
What is Biosecurity?
Minimize the risk of disease transmission from sources outside the production unit.
Reduce the transmission of diseases among groups of pigs on the same farm.
What happens with Swine Brucellosis?
Caused: By a bacteria
Spread by contact with aborted fetuses, placenta, milk, and urine of infected individuals.
Zoonotic
What happens with Pseodorabies?
Caused: By a virus
Contact with infected animals
Causes high piglet mortality and abortions
Coughing and fever in adults
Non-zoonotic
What happens with Tularemia?
Caused: by a bacteria
Spread by eating infected meat, wounds, ticks/biting fleas
Pneumonia, meningitis, and blood infections
Zoonotic
