Swine Selection And Reproduction Flashcards
Today meat is preferred fatty or lean?
Lean
Selection is based on (4traits)
Sow productivity, conformation, feed efficiency, carcass measurements (how much fat)
Gilts reach puberty around what age
5-6 months
Before a gilts first breeding they should be how old and weigh how much
7-9 months 200-250 lbs
Estrous cycle length and estrus length
21 day cycle and 2-4 day estrus
Gestation
114 days (3 months 3 weeks 3 days)
What is a farrowing crate
Keeps sow from harming piglets, goes in few days before farrowing to get used to crate
Temperature piglets need at
First 2 weeks
And after
85-90 first two weeks (F)
65-70 after (F)
First three days of life, farmer will (alterations)
Clip needle incisors, dock tail, may ear notch or ear tag, castrate, iron injection
Why we clip a piglets needle teeth
How many are there
Can injure sow when nursing and cause mastitis (they would wear down normally in wild by digging)
8 sharp incisors
Why we dock a piglets tail
How much we take off
Prevent “canabalism” aka dominant piglets chewing on less dominant piglet tails
1/2 in from body
What an ear notch is
Wedge taken out of edge of pinna for education
Why we give an iron injection to piglets
Prevents anemia, causes piglets to grow rapidly, increased rb cell count rapidly,
What hog operation: producer owns sows, breeds them, grows piglets to 40 lbs, sells as feeder pigs
Feeder pig operation
What hog operation: buys 40 lb feeder pigs, feeds until slaughter weight
“Feeder pig finishing” operation
