Swine (ANISCI FINAL)

taxonomy of swine

class: mammalia

order: antiodactyla (even/cloven hoofed)

family: suidae

genus: sus

species: domesticus

newborn

piglet

birthing process

farrowing

immature female

gilt

mature female

sow

castrated male

barrow

mature intact male

boar

world’s top pork producers

#1 - china

#2 - E.U

#3 - U.S → 11% of the world’s pig meat

gross income

$28 billion

U.S Swine Industry

one of the world’s top pork exporters

• to Japan, Mexico, china

• exports 20-30% of commercial pork production

U.S imports pork from Canada and Denmark

purpose of swine industry

use surplus of grain production and high quality by product to produce meat

• efficient converters of grain →MEAT

what kind of feeders are pigs?

monogastric omnivores

HIGH ENERGY FEEDS

swine management goals

optimize productivity and product quality

minimize production costs

minimize environmental impact (waste & odor)

optimize animal welfare

pigs are very smart animals

• able to anticipate and prepare for an event

• capable of numerical understanding (in a foraging situation)

• play and explore

• have cognitive empathy

• personality structure

• excellent sense of smell → use snout to dig holes, find food, and sense what is around them

• roll around in mud to keep cool

• very clean → do not use bathroom where they sleep + eat

ancestors of current domestic pigs

pigs of Chinese origin

european wild boar

swine in colonial times

central to colonial diet

• porks, bacon, ham, salt pork

• LARD: valuable, tradable product

roamed free

excellent foragers → eat roots, tubers, fruits, nuts, mushrooms, snakes

• nose rings used to prevent rooting

~200 lbs around 1-2 yrs old

changes in swine industry

improvements made in housing, genetics, nutrition, production, health management, and technology

slaughter houses built where hogs were raised

• raised in grain producing areas (Midwest)

PORK REPLACED LARD → bred to be leaner

diet :corn/soybean meal (concentrates) instead of forage

Stages (breeding - finisher)

breeding: boars, gilts, sows

NONSEASONALLY POLYESTROUS

gestation: 114 days

• 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days

farrowing:

• born at 2-3 lbs

• nurse to weaning at 10-15 lbs by 3 weeks of age

nursery:

• fed corn/soybean meal

• grow 50-60 lbs by 2-3 months

grower:

• fed corn/soybean meal

• grow to 125-150 lbs by 4 months

finisher:

• fed corn/soybean meal

• grow to market weight of 275-300 lbs by 6-7 months

5 types of primary swine operations

• purebred or seedstock operations

• farrow to wean operations

• finishing operations

• farrow- finish operation

• integrated operation group

purebred or seedstock operation

<1% of total hogs raised in the U.S

purebred or controlled crossbred

• produce foundation stock/seed breeders for showing pigs or cross-breeding systems

swine breeding programs

• producing the best hogs in the most economical manner

  • commercial swine breeding programs rely on CROSS BREEDING

crossbred animals

• exhibit hybrid vigors or heterosis

• represent a 20-30% improvement in productivity and efficiency

farrow to wean operations

produces

• early weaned pigs → 10-15 lbs

• feeder pigs → 30-50lbs

feeder pigs get sold to finishing operations

finishing operations

buy feeder pigs and grow them to market weight (275-300lbs) by 6 months

farrow to finish operations

breeding herd produces piglets that are raised all the way to market weight on the SAME farm

trends in U.S swine

• decreasing number of total farms, but each individual farm has more pigs (>5,000 pigs)

• increasing number of large, corporate owned swine farms

• increasing vertical integration

• increasing confinement and automation

• decreasing pasture use and manual use

• increasing individual animal productivity

  • feed efficiency

  • litters per sow per year

  • piglets weaned per litter

Midwest in swine production

Iowa (+ Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, Michigan, Oklahoma) contain 74% of the nation’s hogs

• where the grain production is

• food doesn’t have to be imported / exported

biosecurity

• minimize risk of introduction and spread of disease from outside the production unit

• reduce the transmission of disease of among groups of pigs on the same farm

ex. closed facilities, all in all out

all-in all-out

all the animals are brought in at the same time and go through all stages of production together before a new group is brought in

• meant to manage disease spread and animal health

genetics in swine

rapid progression due to

• high number of offspring

  • 1 sow = 23-30 piglets in 1 year

• short generation interval

• rapid maturing rate

  • hit puberty at 5-6 months

  • bred for the first time by 7-9 months

ideal market hogs

marketed at 250-300lbs at 5-7 months

feed efficiency of <= 2.4 lbs of feed for each 1 lb of grain

Gilt breeding

1st estrous at 5-8 months

• breed during 2nd or 3rd cycle (7-9 months → 250-260 lbs) because you get more piglets

• nonseasonally polyestrous

  • proestrous: 3-4 days

  • estrous: 40-60 hours

  • diestrous: 14 days

• in estrous every 21 DAYS

boars breeding

puberty at 5-8 months

• improve until 18 months then constant until 4 years

  • AGE MATTERS

• 90-95% of all pigs in the U.S are bred by artificial insemination

Sows - breeding

pregnant (114 days) →farrowing → nurse → wean (at 2-3 weeks)

• 4-7 DAYS post weaning →BACK IN ESTROUS → BREED

signs of estrous: standing reflex/back pressure test, interact with boar, vocalize, swollen/red vuvla

standing reflex/back pressure test

boars secrete pheromones which elicit the standing reflex in sows and gilts

• put pressure on sow/gilts on back and they won’t move

management goal with breeding sows

>= 95% of sows bred within 7 days of post weaning to limit nonproductive sow days

culling sows- commercial herds

5-30% of sows that don’t return to estrous after weaning will be culled (selectively slaughtered)

production of breeding sows

sows are expected to deliver 2.2 liters/year

expected to deliver 4 litters before being replaced by gilts

stages of farrowing

1) preparation

2) piglet delivery

• uterine + abdominal contractions → piglets every 15 mins

  • normal: 15-20 mins

  • beware: 45 mins

• gilt: 9.5 piglets in 1st litter

• sows: >= 10 piglets per litter (7-15 piglets)

total delivery time: 2-3 hours

3) placenta delivery

• 30 mins to 12 hours after last piglet

  • retained placenta if more than 12 hours

smithfield

phasing out gestation stalls

now has free access and small group housing

free access

30-40 sows together in a common area with access to individual stalls for feeding or alone time

small group housing

pens of 5-6 sows

• individual stalls are still used during breeding and farrowing

Questions 3 (MA)

• prohibit confinement of pigs/calves/chickens in tight quarters

• prohibit sale of meat/eggs from animals that have been confined

Proposition 12 (CA)

• ban intensive confinement of layer hens, sows, veal calves in CA

• prohibit sale of eggs, pork, veal in CA from anywhere using intensive confinement

• forbids the instate sale of whole pork meat that comes from breeding pigs (or their offspring) that are “confined in a cruel manner”

interstate conflict

13 states tried to sue MA to overturn the law

• arguing that MA was regulating the production of meat + eggs in their states which could hurt their farmers and raise prices for all consumers

supreme court did not allow other states to sue MA

Ending Agricultural Trade of Suppression Act (EATS Act)

would prohibit state governments from imposing conditions on preharvest production of agricultural products if production occurred in a different state with different standards

• would affect enforceability of Proposition 12 and Question 3