Swine Exam Flashcards
What is Gilt?
A female pig prior to first litter or under the age of 2 years.
What is a Sow?
A female pig after first litter.
What is a Boar?
An intact male pig.
What is a Barrow?
A castrated male pig.
Duroc
National Swine Registry Breed
Origin: England
Color: red
Ears: down
- excellent marbling
- used as a terminal sire commercially
Yorkshire
National Swine Registry Breed
Origin: England
Color: Solid white color
ears: erect/up
- known as the mother breed for excellent maternal traits
- used commercially as a maternal breed
Hampshire
National Swine Registry Breed
Origin: England
Color: black with a white belt
ears: erect/up
- known for muscularity, poorer on the maternal side
- not used a lot commercially, but have terminal strengths
Landrace
National Swine Registry Breed
Origin: Denmark
Color: Solid white color
Ears: LARGE down
- known for their maternal ability, also have extra vertebrae
- large litters, extremely prolific
- used as a maternal breed commercially
Berkshire
National Swine Registry Breed
Origin: England
Color: mostly black body with white points (feet, nose, tail)
Ears: erect
- known for marbling ability and carcass quality
fastest growing breed in recent years
formerly a CPS breed
Spotted (or Spots)
Certified Pedigree Swine Breed
Origin: USA
Color: black and white spotted
Ears: down
- known as a muscular breed with added growth
used primarily as a terminal breed
Chester White
Certified Pedigree Swine Breed
Color: Solid white color
Ears: SMALL down
- one of the most versatile breeds
- known a bit more for their maternal strengths
- typically are more aggressive
- used commercially as a maternal breed
Poland China
Certified Pedigree Swine Breed
Color: black with white points
Ears: down
- versatile, known for larger litters and muscularity
- used to be one of the largest breeds in the USA 50+ years ago, but has since regressed
Hereford & Tamworth
These two breeds have little to no relevance in the commercial side of business but are growing in popularity in the show pig sector
Cross Breeding
Whiteline: Maternal, breeds A&B
HD: terminal
Typical time frame from conception to harvest
- 300 days or less from conception to harvest
How long is a Sows pregnancy?
114 days
(3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days)
How many days between birth and harvest?
160-190 days
When are piglets weaned?
About 21 days or less
How much time does a pig spend in nursery?
weaning to 8-10 weeks
How long is the growing/finishing phase?
3-4 months
Farrow to Wean
strictly a sow farm, only keeps pigs until weaned and then shipped and moved off-site to feed
Farrow to Feeder
Pigs are kept from farrow through the nursery phase
Feeder to Finisher
It is strictly a finishing operation, but feeder pigs and fed until harvest
Farrow to Finish
All stages of production
What is the goal farrowing percentage?
85%
Parity
the number of litters a sow has carried (including current pregnancy)
When to deworm sows?
2 weeks prior to being moved to the farrowing facility
treated for external parasites
What happens to a sows feed 1 week before farrowing?
feed intake is reduced
When should sows be moved to crate?
no later than day 111 of gestation
when is milk present in teats?
24 hours prior to farrowing
Why is farrowing induced?
optimize labor and production schedules
reduce pig mortality
heavier weights
allow for more cross-farrowing
increase of one pig per sow per year
when is farrowing induced?
day 113
what causes the greatest percentage of preweaning mortality?
Crushing - 54%
Followed by starvation, various known, scours, respiratory problems, and unknown
when is colostrum needed?
within 6 hours of birth
Naval Cord
cut to 3-4 inches, treated with iodine
are the baby teeth clipped?
YES
What management practices take place within 3 days of birth?
Controling anemia and scours
castration
tail docking
irons shots
Temperature control
piglets need to be kept warm
95 degrees
How heavy do piglets need to be before weaning?
heavier than 10 pounds
What is important about lysine?
most limited amino acid in pigs
died must account for limited lysine levels
Phase feeding
4 specific rations based on the time of production
Split sex feeding
Splitting males and females for feeding because females are more lean
Environmental control
- manure management
- odor management
- air quality interventions
What does a notch on the left ear signify?
represents the individual pigs number
What does a notch on the right ear signify?
the litter number
How many notcher per section
only two notches per section
when is ear notching done
1-3 days after birth
What affects pig health?
environment, nutrition, animal care/management, vaccination protocols
Swine Dysentery (Scours)
Body system affected: Gastrointestinal
Cause: Bacteria
Type of swine affected: 8-14 weeks old
Treatment: antibiotics, sanitation
Symptoms: slows growth of pig, loose, frequent off colored feces, lethargy, dehydration
Actinobacillus
Body system affected: respiratory
Cause: bacteria
Type of swine affected: finishing swine
Treatment: antibiotics
prevention: vaccine
Symptoms: abdominal breathing, high fever, sudden death
Leptospirosis
Body system affected: reproductive
Cause: bacteria
Type of swine affected: boars and sows
prevention: vaccination program
Symptoms: results in abortion and stillbirths
ZOONOTIC - transmissible to humans
Porcine Reproductive & Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)
Body system affected: Reproductive and respiratory
Cause: virus
Type of swine affected: all
Symptoms: birth of premature litters; still borns; increased preweaning illness in piglets; respiratory disease in the nursery
Treatment: Vaccine
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDs)
Body system affected: Digestive
Cause: Virus
Type of swine affected: all, but most severe on piglets (80% mortality)
Symptoms: causes severe watery diarrhea in pigs and vomiting, leading to severe dehydration which is what causes death
treatment: No vaccine only prevention is with biosecurity plans
Parasites
Common types: mange, lice, roundworms, threadworms, nodular worms
causes: lack of sanitation
Treatment: spraying with insecticides for mange and lice, use of deworming agents on worms
symptoms: presence of the parasite on the hair or in the feces, loss of hair and scaling skin, reduced performance
Porcine Stress Syndrome (PSS)
Body system affected: Nervous
Cause: genetic (origin from importation and utilization of the Pietrain breed of swine)
Symptoms/Signs: the onset is sudden with muscle tremors, twitching of the face and rapid respiration, skin becomes red and blotched
Treatment: ineffective
Prevention: cull animals that carry the gene
