Pigs
Lecture 1 ANS 101 / VET 242 2012
Yvette Miller, Kim Nairn, and Kate Gannon
Murdoch University
Portec Veterinary Services
Pig industry overview
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Why are pigs important?
How did the pig industry develop?
What pig breeds are involved?
How is the industry structured?
What are the key performance indicators?
What influences these key performance
indicators?
Why are pigs important?
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Meat – 40% of the global meat consumption
Skin and leather products
Pharmaceutical products – heart valves
Pleasure and company – pet pigs
MEAT
Yes… all
from one
wonderful,
magical
animal!
Pork cuts
Country
Millions of pigs
China
460 (62% global pork eaten in China)
India
17
Indonesia
6
Korea North
3
Korea South
9
Malaysia
2
Myanmar
4
New Zealand
0.4
Philippines
12
Taiwan
7
Thailand
7
Vietnam
22
Our impact on the planet –
The Carbon Footprint of Pork
Food
kg CO2-e/kg (20 years)
kg CO2-e/kg (100 years)
Beef
111.1
55.5
Sheep meat and wool
96.3
32.7
Pig meat
10.5
3.5
Rice
2.4
0.74
Poultry
1.3
0.38
Wheat
0.35
0.32
The Artiodactyla – even toes
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Pigs
Also cattle and camels
And even related to the whales - Ambulocetus
One of the early pigs
Entelodont
Today's suina - suborder
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Hippopotamdae
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Tayassuidae
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Suidae
Sus scrofa – The domestic pig
Large white
Hampshire
Landrace
Duroc
Berkshire
Tamworth
Meishan
Duroc x LW
Meishan
How did the pig industry develop
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Small numbers of pigs per farmer
Side business to other farming = grain
production and/or dairy (to use by-products)
Feeding pigs in WA
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Barley and Wheat = main grains (energy)
Lupins and canola = protein.
Swill feeding is illegal:
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Meat and bone meal does not count (heat
treated)
Definition is different between states of Australia
The global change in pork $
Pork price, feed price and farmers…
Where
is
the
grain?
Where are the pigs?
State
NSW
Queensland
Victoria
South Australia
Western Australia
Percentage
30
21
19
17
12
Western Australia
Sows
50000
1000
40000
800
30000
600
20000
400
10000
200
0
0
1992
2001
2004
Year
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26,000 sows.
Major foreign market Singapore
2007
Producers
Sow Herd WA
Sows
Producers
How is the industry structured?
Males
(boars)
Nucleus farm
500 sows
Multiplication farms
6000 sows
Commercial farms
90,000 sows
Females
(gilts)
How is the farm designed
Weaning
Grow/finish
Farrowing
Basic Pig Life Cycle
Gestation
115 days
Selection
Breeding
Nucleus farm
Slaughter
Lets walk the farm…
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Breeder shed
Gestation shed
Farrowing shed
Weaner shed
Grower/Finisher shed
And speak the jargon and key performance
indicators as we go…
Breeder shed
• Boar – entire male
• Barrow/Castrate – surgically castrated
• Gilt – birth to first litter female
• Sow – breeding female has had a litter
Breeder / Gestation shed – key
performance indicators
• Breeding/service/mating – As implied
• Wean to service/breeding interval – Number of days
between weaning and breeding
• Repeat/Return – Failure to conceive (18-24 days)
• Farrowing rate – Number females farrowed/Number
females bred
• Culling – Removal from herd/farm (eg. parity >6)
Target
Wean to re-mate 5 days
(service) interval
Sow feed in
1.1
tonnes / year
Farrowing rate
87 %
Interference
>7 days
>1.2
<82 %
Gestation shed
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Parity = Number of
farrowings.
Gestation = state of
pregnancy
Dry Sow = period
other than lactating
Farrowing shed
• Litter = group of piglets
reared by a sow
• Piglet/Sucker = piglet still on
a sow
• Farrowing = parturition /
giving birth
• Lactating = producing milk
Farrowing shed – key performance
indicators
Target
Interference
Pigs born
alive/sow
10.9
<10.4
Pre-weaning
mortality
Pigs sold per
sow per year
10 %
>14%
23
<21.5
Pre-weaning mortality – % piglet deaths between birth
and weaning
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Mummified
foetus or
Mummy
Target <1.5%
Interference >2.5%
Stillborn
Target <7%
Interference >10%
Processing piglets
Teeth clipping
Castration
Iron injection
Ear notching
Tail docking
More jargon for farrowing shed…
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Fostering – practice of swapping piglets
across litters
Colostrum – antibody rich milk
Body condition score
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Weaner shed
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Weaning – removing piglets from
the sow (usually 3-5 wks; 5-12kg)
Weaner – piglet from weaning
until 10 weeks (30kg)
Grower/Finisher Shed
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Grower (30-60kg; 10-16 wks)
Finisher (60-110kg; 16-26 wks)
Post-weaning – key performance
indicators
Target
Interference
Post-weaning
mortality
Feed conversion
ratio (4-100kg)
3%
5%
2.2
>2.4
Average daily
gain (g/day)
570
<520
• Post-weaning mortality = % piglet deaths after weaning
What influences the key performance
indicators?
1. ANIMAL: Genetics
2. ENVIRONMENT (examples):
 FEED – particle size, FCR, mash vs steam
pelleted diets.
 WATER – water access, flow rates
 AIR – gases, drafts, temperature
 FLOOR – stocking rate
Code of Welfare - Pigs
Web resource
http://www.portec.com.au