Swine Production: Chapter 2

• The notes are for Chapter 2: Swine Production

Chapter Outline for Swine Production

• Swine production systems are covered
• Information about breeds, breeding techniques, and breeding systems is included
• Selection and evaluation of breeding stocks are touched upon
• Swine housing and equipment will be reviewed
• Care and management of boars is covered
• Care and management of sows and gilts is contained
• Care and management of newborn pigs from birth to weaning will be presented
• Care and management of growing-finishing pigs is included
• Marketing finished pigs is considered
• Important technical parameters to measure swine productivity are mentioned

Sow Herd Enterprise

Farrow to Feeder Operation

• This operation starts with a pregnant gilt/sow to produce pigs/weanlings
• The weanlings are sold to raisers to grow until marketable weight

Farrow to Finish Operation

• This operation starts with a pregnant gilt/sow to produce pigs/weanlings
• The raiser will keep and grow the pigs/weanlings until slaughter weight

Farrow to Breeder Operation

• This operation starts with a pregnant gilt/sow to produce pigs/weanlings
• The pigs/weanlings are selected as breeder stocks, specifically junior boars and replacement gilts

Growing-Finishing Enterprise

• This enterprise starts with feeder/weanlings and carries them to slaughter weight of about 80-95 kg
• Most small swine holders/raisers in the Asian region use growing-finishing operations
• This system is suitable for those with limited financial resources and technical know-how

Profit Influences

• The availability of a continuous supply of good quality feeder pigs
• The cost of feeds and feeder pigs
• The capacity of the operator to avoid losses from diseases, pests, and other animal health hazards
• Price willing to be paid for the finished hogs by buyers

Advantages

• Capital requirements are high, however the rate of capital turnover is relatively faster than sow herd enterprise
• Start up to first paycheck in approximately 4 months, compared with a sow herd that takes about 1 year to initial returns
• Producers starts with 10-15 kg pigs, avoiding demanding management problems associated with breeding sows and managing newborn piglets.

Disadvantages

• Slow growth is relatively high because accurately predicting the performance of feeder pigs is difficult, especially when they are assembled from farms utilizing sub-standard management

Boar-for-Hire Enterprise

• This operation begins with a young boar, which is grown and trained to breeder age
• The boar is used to breed sow/gilt to the community for a fee
• Fees may be paid in cash or in kind

Profitability

• Profitability depends on the quality of the boar
• Additional factors include the number and quality of sows served by the boar, customer willingness to use the boar and pay the breeding fee, and the operator's capacity to avoid losses from mechanical injuries and disease

Advantages

• The boar-for-hire can be started with relatively small capital and return to investment comes quickly
• This enterprise can be a primary or supplementary income for a rural family
• Proper management improves the quality of pigs produced by farmers in the boar’s service area

Disadvantages

• Halting the operation due to potential disease problems may significantly affect the swine industry, specifically because of frequent contact with sows and gilts from different farms
• Operators who are too careless in managing the enterprise will likely spread common reproduction diseases which will ruin the community's swine industry

Swine Taxonomy

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Artiodactyla
• Family: Suidae
• Genus: Sus
• Species: scrofa
• Note: Sus scrofa is a wild hog of continental Europe from which domesticated swine have been originated.
• Sus vitatus was a chief species of the East Indian pig that contributed to domestic swine.

Landrace

• Origin: Denmark
• Color: white with black freckles
• Ears: large and drooping
• Traits: Longest breed of swine (16-17 ribs), prolific mothering ability under the Philippine condition
• Preferred by butchers as the breed has a small head and light neck jowl
• Disadvantages: known for weak legs and pasterns, strains have narrow bodies, large drooping ears a disadvantage to breeders

Large White / Yorkshire

• Origin: Northern England
• Color: fine white, sometimes with black freckles
• Ears: small and erect
• Traits: good body conformation, highly prolific, considered a "mother breed," excellent milker, and has strong legs
• Broad face, the snout is medium, very thin jowl
• Disadvantage: relatively short with big belly, which tends to develop carcasses with excess backfat; not suitable in rugged conditions

Duroc

• Origin: New York/New Jersey, USA
• Color: light gold to dark mahogany red
• Ears: small, forward ears, 2/3 erect and 1/3 hanging
• Traits: Superior breed ("red power") for growth rate and feed efficiency. This breed adapted to different environmental sets and rugged conditions exhibiting good muscle quality and are most resistant to stress. Popular terminal sire for slaughter pigs.
• Disadvantage: Tendency of having a well-arched back: unsound front and hind legs may lead to gait or lameness

Duroc arched back

• Unsound individuals may have too straight front or rear legs that cause an arched back
• may be a sign of pain or a skeletal deformity
• Pig with an arched back may not stay long in the breeding herd

Pietrain

• Origin: Pietrain, Belgium
• Color: spotted black and white, some red roan
• Ears: medium, upward
• Traits: Snout is moderately long and dished. “Muscled pig”, outstanding muscle development in loin, ham and shoulder, mothering ability within acceptable level and thin backfat
• Disadvantage: weakness of hind legs which do not rapidly develop Ham muscle mass. A slow grower and highly prone to stress.
• Pigs who carry two copies of the PSS gene are classified as "Stress Positive" and are titled as "nn" genotype
• The "nn" pig can be susceptible to external stress from environment, movement, and mixing
• Any of these elements can cause death loss in a herd positive with "nn" pigs
• Stress positive "nn" pigs produce "Pale, Soft, and Exudative" carcasses more than 90% of the time and display PSE carcass characteristics

Porcine Stress Syndrome

• Associated with an autosomal recessive gene and includes acute stress and sudden death (malignant hypothermia), pale, soft exudative muscle (PSE), dark firm dry meat, and back muscle necrosis
• Heavy muscle pigs more prone to carry the gene
• Pig is either homozygous recessive (susceptible) heterozygous, or free of the gene
• Clinical signs include sudden onset with muscle tremors and twitching of the face
• Rapid respiration
• The skin becomes red and blotched with death usually occurring within 15-20 minutes
• Back muscle necrosis is a localized form of PSS
• The gene produces a leaner carcass, growth rates are slower and the levels of sudden death increase

Hampshire

• Origin: England
• Color: black with belted white body extending to the foreleg
• Ears: large and erect
• Traits: Jowl is trim and light, head refined, shoulder smooth and well arched - this breed provides good feed efficiency, length and ham-loin. percentage is excellent
• Disadvantage: low litter size at birth and weaning, poor mothering ability and matures late. Black is associated with difficult dressing/ cleaning during slaughtering and thick backfat.

Berkshire

• Origin: Berkshire and Wiltshire, England
• Color: black with six white points; 4 on feet; 1 forehead and 1 on tail switch
• Ears: erect and inclined forward
• Traits: Exhibits excellent conformation for meat type. Long bodied with long deep side, moderately wide across back, well-balanced and medium length of leg
• Disadvantage: Small litter size at birth and weaning, matures late, thick backfat and black skin

Poland China

• Origin: Ohio, USA
• Color: black with six white points; 4 on feet; 1 pole on the head and 1 on tail switch
• Ears: drooping

Chester White

• Origin: Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA
• Color: white
• Ears: droop forward
• Traits: good mothering ability

Hereford

• Origin: Missouri, Iowa
• Foundation breeds used to create Duroc, Poland China

Spots / Spotted

• Origin: Indiana, USA
• Color: black and white
• Ears: droop forward
• Traits: large-framed body with good muscling and meat quality

Tamworth

• Origin: Ireland
• The oldest purebred breeds
• Color: red with erect ears, long head and snout
• Traits: Has good mothering ability, large litter size, excellent foraging ability

Meishan Pig

• Origin: China
• Color: black with white extremities
• Ears: large drooping ears
• Traits: Prolificacy and early sexual maturity 2.5-3 months, large litter size (15-16 piglets per farrowing), excellent meat - can consume large amounts of roughage

Philippine Native Pig

• Traits: generally small
• Boar weighs approximately 40-50 kilograms, and the sow/gilt approximately 30-40 kilograms
• Color: black
• Prominent features include a long, straight and pointed snout with small and erect ears
• Sway back and weak pasterns, strong motherly instinct, tends to protect offspring against predators
• Usually, the male has a longer body and tail than their female counterparts:
• Male body length ranges from 49 inches to 51 inches (127 cm to 129 cm), with tail length between 5 inches (13 cm and 14 cm)
• The female body length between 49 inches and 50 inches (124 cm and 125 cm), with the tail length, ranged from 4 inches (11 cm to 12 cm).

Strains of the Philippine Native Pigs

• Q-Black, Quezon
• Markaduke, Marinduque
• Sinirangan, Eastern Samar

Endemic Pigs of the Philippines

• Philippine Warty Pig – Sus philippensis
• Mindoro Warty Pig - Sus oliveri
• Palawan Bearded – Sus Ahenobarbus
• Visayan Warty Pig – Sus cebifrons
• Sulu Warty Pig - Sus sp. A.

Upgraded Pigs

• Kaman, common in Batangas, result of crossing the native pig with Duroc Jersey
• Diani, result of crossing native pig in Batangas and the Berkshire
• Black Ilocos, crosses native pigs with either Berkshire or Poland China breeds
• Berkjala Strain, developed in 1916 at UP CA following systematic upgrading, resulting in crosses between Berkshire and a native pig found in Jalajala, Rizal.
• Koronadal Pig, an improved pig in Koronadal, Cotabato found by Swine breeders. Intermediate in the lard and bacon types, satisfactory size with a pointed and long snout. It is claimed that the color is not fixed

Hybrids

Dalland

• Developed in the Netherlands by TOPIGS
• Foundation breed: Pietrain with Largewhite and Landrace
• Known for its fast growth and excellent feed conversion of finishing pigs
• Provides high fertility, a well-developed udder, and is a stress-negative animal

Hypig / Hypor

• Developed by Eurobrid in the Netherlands sow line
• Includes Largewhite, Landrace, and Meishan
• Boar line: Pietrain Duroc
• As for the sow line it is developed for a high litter size and weaning capacity
• The boar line is for meat percentage, conformation, and feed conversion

Camborough

• Developed by PIC
• Known for its docile temperament and good mothering ability to rear large numbers of lean and fast-growing piglets
• notable to be stress negative

Genemaster 100 (F1 Gilt)

• Developed by Genetic Alliance Corporation
• Known to produce large litters, docile with good mothering ability

Globegen, Superior Breeding Solutions

• One of the pioneers in importing breeder stocks from Europe
• Continually produced performance-tested breeding animals with global standards.
• Engages in regular semen and live animal importations to ensure constant genetic upgrade
• Babcock, result of the cross between Duroc (Du), Hampshire (H), Landrace (LR) and Large White (LW)