WEEK 10: Swine Flashcards
Pig Scientific Name
Sus scrofa domesticus
Special Pig Terms
Male: Boar
Female: Sow
giving birth verb: Farrowing
Young Female: Gilt
Castrated Male: Barrow
How much of the world’s pork does the US produce?
9%, while only have <7% of the world’s hogs
NOTE: China produces the most global pork
Swine’s purpose in agriculture
Swine serve to convert excess grain and hq by-product feeds into meat
NOTE: Swine are the dominant meat-producing species globally
How were hogs handled in the early days?
They mostly ran free and fended for themselves, in the fall there would be roundups where pigs would be gathered and slaughtered
Historical Perspective (Pigs)
> 1493 Columbus brings hogs to the Western hemisphere
1500s Hernando DeSoto brings pigs to North America, Florida area
1600s Colonists have meatpacking plants and export salt and lard
NOTE: Lard was more important than meat in early days
Where is Porkopolis?
Cincinatti, Ohio
It was the first pork-packing center in the mid 1800s
Historical Perspective Pt 2 (Pigs)
By 1860, Chicago was the new center of activity for pork.
Hogs were shipped by railroad from across the country
Chicago - “Hog Butcher for the world”
What happened to the hog industry after World War 1?
Hog production and marketing decentralized.
Slaughter facilities were built near animal production areas - grain belt
Lard fell off, Hogs now bred to be leaner
How many primary types of swine operation are there?
5
What type of operation consists of a breeding herd, which produces early-weaned pigs at
10–15 lbs ?
Farrow-To-Wean Operation
In what type of operation are feeder pigs grown to market weight?
Finishing Operation
What type of operation both maintains a breeding herd and grows pigs to market weight on the same farm?
Farrow-to-Finish Operation
What type of operation is similar to farrow-to-finish, except their product is primarily
breeding boars and gilts or show pigs?
Purebred or Seedstock Operations
What are Integrated Corporate Operations?
Can generally be described as farrow-to-finish, often have their
own seed-stock production
* The various phases of the operation are usually located on
different sites
Where are most hog operations located in the US today?
CORN BELT!
Iowa has 25% of the nation’s pigs, 74% if you include its border states
What factors influence the location of the swine industry?
- Availability of feed
- State regulations, state restrictions on facilities, and waste disposal
options - Technological advances of the industry
- transportation infrastructure
- Labor availability
6.Fossil fuel availability
Why is Progress in swine genetics easier to make than with other species?
- They have hella offspring per litter to choose from
- Fairly short generation interval bc pigs mature quickly
What are the three categories of hog breeds in the US?
- LARD TYPE
>Bred to be fat as hell - BACON TYPE
>Bred to be long and lean for bacon - MEAT TYPE
>Intermediate type, more muscular than bacon type and leaner than lard type
Today’s hogs are meat-type hogs
What’s the best carcass breed for pigs?
Hampshire
Reproductive Management 1 - Gilts and Sows
> Gilts are brought into breeding herds frequently to replace culled sows and bred at 7 months of age
Sows are managed for milk production and rebreeding
> Heat synchronization: 3-7 days after weaning, sows come into heat again
Signs of Estrus in Sows
- Swollen vulva
- Standing heat
- Popping their ears
Farrowing Complications
> Entangled afterbirth
Bleeding navels
Inability to nurse in a timely manner
Reproductive Management 2- Boars
Boars get breeding soundness exams, sexually active by 7 months of age
Artificial Insemination is difficult w pigs because storing semen is hard. Industry uses fresh shit most of the time
T/F Pigs are monogastric omnivores
TRUE. So are chickens
How are pigs fed?
Pigs get concentrated feeds - most production stages are all about optimizing growth
Growing/Finishing pigs are generally fed ad libitum
T/F Pigs should be segregated by age as a part of herd health management
True
Swine Health Challenges
Scours (Diarrhea)
Respiratory Disease
Gastric Ulcers
