Swine Production and Management

Vocabulary flashcards covering swine industry terminology, production phases, reproductive biology, and management systems.

Gilt

A young female swine that has not farrowed yet (technically a virgin female).

Sow

A mature female swine that has farrowed and had at least one litter of piglets.

Shoat

A young, intact male swine that has not been castrated and still possesses both testicles.

Boar

A mature, intact male swine.

Barrow

A male swine that has been castrated by having both testicles removed.

Piglet

A newborn pig.

Drove

The collective term designating a group of swine.

Farrowing

The biological act of giving birth in swine.

Corn Belt

The geographic region of the United States—including states such as Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana—where the swine industry is heavily concentrated due to abundant feed availability of corn and soybeans.

Purebred Seedstock Operation

A swine enterprise that serves as the genetic nucleus for the industry, breeding and marketing pure genetics via intact boars, gilts, or fresh semen.

Farrow-to-Finish Operation

A production facility where piglets are farrowed, raised, and fed on the farm until reaching market harvest weight.

Feeder Pig Operation

An operation where sows are bred and farrowed, and the offspring are raised to be sold either as weaned nursery pigs ($10$ to $15\,\text{pounds}$) or as larger feeder pigs ($23$ to $50\,\text{pounds}$).

Finishing Operation

A swine enterprise that purchases feeder pigs at approximately $23$ to $50\,\text{pounds}$ and feeds them across phased nutritional diets until they achieve a harvest weight of roughly $260$ to $280\,\text{pounds}$

Vertical Integration

A tiered corporate structure where a single parent entity oversees and connects multiple production tiers, including genetics, breeding facilities, feeding stages, and harvest packaging.

Polyestrous

Having recurring, multiple estrous cycles year-round, enabling animals to cycle and breed continuously throughout all seasons.

Ad Libitum

A feeding protocol where animals receive unlimited, continuous access to feed, allowing them to eat as much as they want.

Swine Gestation Period

The pregnancy length in swine, lasting approximately $112$ to $114\,\text{days}$ (or $115\,\text{days}$, commonly remembered as $3\,\text{months, } 3\,\text{weeks, and } 3\,\text{days}$).

Colostrum

The nutrient-, fat-, and lactose-rich first milk secreted by the sow immediately after farrowing, essential for transferring passive immunity and energy to newborn piglets.

Farrowing Crate

A specialized metal enclosure used during birthing and nursing that restricts sow movement to prevent crushing or injury to piglets while providing dedicated, heated creep areas for the litter.