Swine

Question 1

What is a breeding male pig called?

Answer 1

Boar

Question 2

What is a breeding female pig called?

Answer 2

Sow

Question 3

What is a female pig that has not bred called?

Answer 3

Gilt

Question 4

What is a castrated male pig called?

Answer 4

Barrow

Question 5

What is the normal body temperature of a pig?

Answer 5

101.6 - 103.6

Question 6

What is the gestation period for a pig?

Answer 6

114 (3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days)

Question 7

What is the estrous cycle for a pig?

Answer 7

21 days

Question 8

What is the phylum of a pig?

Answer 8

Chordata

Question 9

What is the subphylum of a pig?

Answer 9

Vertebrata

Question 10

What is the class of a pig?

Answer 10

Mammalia

Question 11

What is the order of a pig?

Answer 11

Artiodactyla

Question 12

What is the suborder of a pig?

Answer 12

Suina

Question 13

What is the family of a pig?

Answer 13

Suidae

Question 14

What is the genus of a pig?

Answer 14

Sus

Question 15

What is the species of a pig?

Answer 15

Scrofa domesticus

Question 16

Which country is the biggest producer of pork?

Answer 16

China

Question 17

What is the average size of a pigs litter?

Answer 17

10-11 pigs

Question 18

True or False: Pigs can’t sweat

Answer 18

True

Question 19

Years ago, the US bred these the 2 Types of hog categories

Answer 19

Lard type breeds - Fat
Bacon type - Bacon

Now they are both meat type hogs

Question 20

Miniature pig breeds

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Lifestyle Cycle of Market Pig stages

Answer 21

Gestation
Farrowing
Nursery
Growing and Fishing

Question 22

What happens during Gestation?

Answer 22

• 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.

Question 23

What happens during Farrowing?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What happens during Nursing?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What happens as they grow and are finished?

Answer 25

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.

Question 26

What performance information is checked?

Answer 26

Reproductive efficiency, growth rate and efficiency, and carcass traits.

Question 27

What economically important measures are checked?

Answer 27

Days to 150 lbs
Average daily gain (ADG)
Feed efficiency

Question 28

What data is collected when looking at market ready pigs?

Answer 28

Back-fat thickness (live
Carcass fat depth
Loin eye area
Pounds of lean pork
Loin muscle color, firmness, and marbling

Question 29

Benefits of Artificial Insemination in Swine

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

What type of food do mono-gastrics need?

Answer 30

Require high-energy feeds
Corn and soybean meal based feeds
Free choice access to water

Question 31

What feeding practices are there?

Answer 31

• 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.

Question 32

What is Biosecurity?

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

What happens with Swine Brucellosis?

Answer 33

Caused: By a bacteria
Spread by contact with aborted fetuses, placenta, milk, and urine of infected individuals.
Zoonotic

Question 34

What happens with Pseodorabies?

Answer 34

Caused: By a virus
Contact with infected animals
Causes high piglet mortality and abortions
Coughing and fever in adults
Non-zoonotic

Question 35

What happens with Tularemia?

Answer 35

Caused: by a bacteria
Spread by eating infected meat, wounds, ticks/biting fleas
Pneumonia, meningitis, and blood infections
Zoonotic