27 Swine Production Phases and Principals of Biosecurity

Sow farm (breeding/gestation barns and farrowing rooms)

Nursery

Finisher

Wean-to-finish

Name the phases of swine production

3-4 weeks of age

When do you wean pigs?

Farrowing room

This part of a sow farm is for sows with litters of lactating piglets

NURSERY: 3-10 weeks

FINISHER: 10-25 weeks

About what ages are nursery and finisher piglets?

Maternal lines

Which line of swine reproduction produces desired traits like litter size, fertility, milk production, usually white in color?

Terminal lines

Which line of swine reproduction produces desired traits like fast growing, lean carcasses, usually colored?

Yorkshire

This breed of pig is maternal with erect ears, excelling in litter size, milk production, and fertility

Yorkshire and Landrace

Name the maternal pig breeds

Duroc and Hampshire

Name the terminal/paternal pig breeds

Landrace

"ears pointing towards the land"

This breed of pig is a maternal with drooping ears, excelling in litter size, milk production, and fertility

Duroc

This breed of pig is a paternal/terminal line with a solid red color, excelling in leanness, growth, and muscling

Hampshire

This breed of pig is a paternal/terminal line with a black and white belt, excelling in leanness, growth, and muscling

Hampshire and Yorkshire

What cross of maternal and paternal/terminal lines are TYPICAL market pigs?

This is where purebreds are produced and have the HIGHEST biosecurity

What does it mean to have a "seedstock" farm?

AI

Majority of breeding with pigs from boar studs is live cover or AI

60% or greater

What do you want motility of semen to be from boar studs?

PRRS test

What test do you need to wait for the results of before using a boar stud's semen (you test the boar, not the semen)

Gestation individual stalls/crates and group pens

What are the two typical set ups of sow farms?

Breeding farm

What is the most important step of pig production?

Nurse for 2-4 weeks, weaning-to-estrus interval lasts 1 week after that

When pigs farrow at 114 days, they begin to nurse their piglets. How long do they nurse? How long is the weaning to estrus interval after that?

4-6 months of age

At what age do you bring gilts onto the sow farm once they are done being raised in their separate nursery and finish farm?

7-8 months of age, around 280-300 lbs

Gilts reach puberty when?

True

TRUE OR FALSE: You skip the first heat in gilts and breed them on the second instead

Separate based on the week they are expected to farrow, this way the room will contain a similar cohort of piglets

How do you separate sows into farrowing rooms?

To reduce the chance of the sow laying on the piglets and crushing them which is the biggest contributor to pre-weaned mortality in piglets

Why would you use farrowing stalls/crates as opposed to farrowing rooms?

Feed, water, air (+ individual care)

What are the most IMPORTANT qualities to assess when doing pig care?

FEED: prevention

WATER: treatment

Feed meds are typically for prevention/treatment of piglets, water meds are typically for prevention/treatment

A: high treatment success - slightly gaunt, listless ears, dull/red eyes

B: moderate treatment success - definite gauntness, thinner, rough hair

C: low treatment success - severe gauntness, advanced flesh loss, soiled coat

E: euthanize

What are the stages of individual pig care to assess for sickness, some signs, and rate of success

Because it allows them to move one less time = less stress

Why would you move a pig to a single wean-to-finish barn?

1. in utero (mummies, stillborn)

2. birth to weaning

3. wean to market

What are the different types of mortality in the pig industry?

ADG (average daily gain), F/G (lbs of feed consumed per lb gained), weight at market (around 280-300 lbs)

What terms are used to describe growth performance in the pig industry

Older animals will constantly re-infect younger pigs and replacement stock, making diseases almost impossible to eradicate

Farrow-finish farms may help to relieve a little stress on the pigs by moving less. But what is a major drawback that comes with this production type?

Helps break cycle of disease transmission

Why do you do an "All in, All out" production type with swine production?

Wash/clean (remove organic debris), disinfect (10 minute contact time), and dry (12 hours) at each stage of production

What do you need to do between swine groups for the all in all out method?

Internal

This type of biosecurity means preventing disease spread within the farm

External

This type of biosecurity means preventing disease introduction

Check in at the front desk and answer questions about your previous pig exposure, then cross the clean | dirty line, shower, and wear farm specific clothes

What do you typically do for biosecurity when you show up to a pig farm?

Younger FIRST

For the best biosecurity select where you should START when working on pigs farms:

younger or older first?

A

Which stage would you put these pigs at for individual care: A, B or C

B

Which stage would you put these pigs at for individual care: A, B or C

C

Which stage would you put these pigs at for individual care: A, B or C

C

Which stage would you put these pigs at for individual care: A, B or C