Swine Management

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Swine Management
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Characteristics of swine

• Pigs are Homeotherms
• Maintain a constant body temperature
• Pigs are Monogastrics
• Pigs have very few sweat glands

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Housing

• Types of houses
• Outside pen
• A- frame houses
• Open front buildings
• Environmentally regulated buildings

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Housing
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Housing
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Reproduction

• Natural
• AI
• Heat period averages 2 days and occurs every
  20-21 days
• Can synchronize gilts by putting them together
  and in a pen next to a boar
• Lock up when in heat (Lordosis)

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Reproduction
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Reproduction

• Boar penis is corkscrewed
• AI rod has to be corkscrewed as well
• Boar semen cannot be frozen
• Shipped fresh overnight
• 2 doses of semen are administered
• 24 hours after 1st incidence of standing heat
• 12 hours later
• Done because pigs are superovulaters

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Farrowing

• Farrowing the act of parturition
• Gestation period- 114 days (3X3X3)
• Put into farrowing crates few days before
  expected parturition
• Sows can have any number of babies
• Wean at 21 days
• Pigs are very susceptible to disease
• Many farms are total confinment

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Farrowing Crates

• Used to protect the baby pigs from being crushed
  by the sow
• Sow is confined in the middle so that she cant
  turn around
• Equipped with feeder and watering device
• Space on both sides of the sow for babies
• Use a heat lamp to keep babies warm

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Farrowing Crates
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Navel Cord Care

• After birth excess navel cord is removed
• Leave about 1 inch
• Treat navel cord with iodine
• Why?
• Prevent infection

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Navel Cord Care
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Clipping needle teeth

• Born with only eight teeth
• Fairly long and sharp
• Can irritate the sow while nursing
• Can remove these teeth to make more comfortable
  for the sow
• We dont clip

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Clipping needle teeth
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Tail Docking

• Pigs are normally in a confined space
• Chew on others tail
• Done out of boredom
• To prevent tail biting and the possibility of
  infection, tails are docked
• Dock were tail can barely touch the pigs back

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Tail Docking
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Injections

• 3 types of injections
• Subcutaneous
• Intramuscular
• Intravenous
• Two sites to give an injection
• Neck
• Ham

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Injections
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Injections
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Injections
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Injections

• Iron is administered about 24 hours after birth
• 1 cc of iron
• Since pigs are in a create and dont have access
  to soil, iron- deficiency anemia can occur
• Some people give a small dose of antibiotic
• Give the sow penicillin

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Ear Notching

• Most used identification method for baby pigs
• Removing a portion of the ear
• The notches grow as the pig grows
• Permanent identification
• Litter and Pig
• Litter - the pigs right ear
• Pig - the pigs left eat

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Ear Notching

• Litter
• Number of litter for the whole farm
• Not for individual sow
• Pig
• Individual number for the baby pig
• Has nothing to do with the rest of the farm

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Ear Notching
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Ear Notching
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Ear Notching
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Castration

• Removal of the testicles
• Pigs are castrated if meant for slaughter
• Meat from boars may have an odor when cooking
• Takes testosterone out of the system, which makes
  meat tough

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Castration

• Best time for castration is between 1 and 14 days
  
• Pigs are easier to restrain
• Bleed less from the surgery
• One person holds the pig by the back legs and the
  other person does the castrating
• Make small incisions
• Make sure to use some type of antiseptic spray

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Castration
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Castration
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Castration
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Castration
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Parasites

• Coccidia
• Affects nursing pigs between days 5 and 15
• Develop a yellowish, very fluid diarrhea
• Infected pigs do not respond well to antibiotic
  treatment
• Mortality rates will be moderate to high

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Parasites

• Worms
• Roundworms
• Nodular worms
• Whipworms
• Threadworms
• Stomach worms
• Lungworms
• Kidney worms
• Doesnt occur much in baby pigs

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Weaning

• Baby pigs are weaned at 21 days
• Put in a nursery for a few weeks
• Until pigs are 40 45 lbs
• Moved to other pens for growing and finishing