Selecting Swine

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Selecting Swine
3121 Adam Nash
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The Incredible Pig

• Did you know?
• Fat from the pig was used to make nitroglycerine
  for War explosives
• After war, consumers were diet conscience and
  quit eating pig

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See the difference?

• Selection has changed over timeIn the past,
  short fat lard types.
• Now an extremely thick-muscled, long bodied,
  stress prone type
• Why? 

http//www.boarsemen.com/boarpen/ppigs.htm
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Selection of breeding animals Overview

• Look for an animal who is
• Structurally sound,
• Healthy,
• Big volume,
• Thick muscled and
• Efficient
• Be able to explain in your words. 

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Selection based on

• I. Visual appraisal
• II. Production testing
• III. Pedigree evaluation 

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Visual Appraisal

• 1. Look at confirmation
• 2. Structural soundness of feet and legs- NPPC
  scoring system
• 3. Size and scale- weigh 200 at 6months,
• 4. Health and vigor

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Visual Appraisal

• NPPC scoring system
• Unsound- Obvious restriction of movement
• Intermediate- Structural condition is not serious
  enough to create risk in movement
• Sound- free of major or minor structural weakness

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II. Swine Performance data

• Based on
• Sow productivity,
• growth rate,
• feed efficiency and
• carcass merit

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Heriability

• rate that a trait/characteristic will be passed
  on to offspring
• Low heritability means it is unlikely that trait
  will be passed on
• High Heritability means that trait is easily
  passed on to each generation
• Why do we care?

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Heritability 

• Fertility
• weaned
• Wt. At weaning
• Rate of gain
• Efficiency of gain
• Fat over loin
• Loin-eye area
• of lean cuts

• 0-15
• 10-15
• 15-20
• 25-30
• 30-35
• 45-50
• 45-50
• 30-40

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A sow is productive if?

• Prolific- min 8/9 offspring
• 2.5 to 4 lb birth wt.
• 21 day litter wt milking ability
• Sow index- how good she is compared to her peers 

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Lets do the math
Sow index 1006.5(L-l)1.0(W-w)

• L piglets born alive
• l avg. piglets born alive for comparable group
• W 21 day weight for individual
• w 21 day weight for comparable group

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Lets do the mathSow index 1006.5(L-l)1.0(W-w)

• Betsy had 9 piglets
• Her comparable groups had
• an avg. of 7
• Betsys piglets avg. 105 lbs.
• Her comparable group avg. 110 lbs.
• What do we know?

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Performance data Sow index 

• Index can be used for a number of traits
• You just have to find out the coefficient

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B. Growth weight

• Number of days required to reach a specific
  weight
• Usually 230 pounds

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C. Feed efficiency

• Amount of weight gained per amount of food eaten

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More math

• Pig is fed 6 pounds of food per day.Pig is
  gaining 2 pounds per day.What is this pigs feed
  conversion?
• Takes 3 pounds of feed to gain 1 pound31

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Try this

• Pig needs to weigh 245 in 2 weeksToday he weighs
  200 poundsHe currently gets 6 lbs of food a
  dayHis feed conversion is 21How much does he
  gain a day?Will he make weight?

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 Math Problem

• Gain 3 pounds a dayIn 14 days he will weigh
  242What to do?

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d. Carcass merit

• What are the types of Hogs?Primary Lean Cuts
  hams, loins, picnics, Boston ButtsMeat Type Hog
  more than half the weight of a Number 1 animal is
  Primary Lean Cuts(PLC)
• Bacon Type Hog less than 1/2 is PLC      large
  litter size      little value in U.S. except to
  increase litter size

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d. Carcass merit

• USDA grades 1,2,3,4, UtilityBased on yield of
  lean cuts Backfat over last rib Muscling1 is
  good and Utility is undesirable

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What it comes down to

• Hog Selection
• U Feed Conversion Rate pounds of feed needed to
  make a pound of hog
• no more than 4 lbs of feed per 1 lb of hog
• U Minimum Litter Size 9
• U First Litter should have a combined pig wt at
  21 days of 95 lbs or more
•       110 lbs for a mature sow