ANSC 433 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Gilt-Edged Securities, Beet Pulp, Weaning
23 May 2018
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19. ANSC 433: Animal Nutrition & Metabolism 1
Feeding Swine
Introduction to Swine
Gilt
- Female pig that has not yet reproduced
- Technically it is defined as a female pig under 6 months
- Some will be kept to produce piglets, others for meat
Sow
- Female pig that is used for reproduction
- Not typically sold for meat as the meat is fatty and tough
- Typically have 8 to 12 piglets, 2 – 3 litters per year
- Lives for approximately 4 – 6 litters
Barrow
- Castrated male pig
- Castration takes place at 2 – 3 weeks old
- Typically kept for meat as they are able to rapidly gain weight
- Can be sent to slaughter anywhere from 4 – 6 months
- Less aggressive than a boar, can be kept with gilts
Boar
- Uncastrated male pig
- Used for breeding female pigs
- 28 – 30 weeks of age until he is able to mate
Feeding Management
Pre-breeding
- Gilts for breeding purposes should be selected at market weight (typically 6 mo of age), removed from the self-feeder and
hand-fed 3 – 4 kg of feed per day
- Gilts are normally bred at 7 – 8 months of age (could be younger but usually results in smaller litters)
- If gilts are thin at breeding, they may be flushed by full-feeding for 1 – 2 weeks prior to breeding
o Flushing increases the number of eggs ovulated and may result in larger litters (better conception rate)
o Return to a moderate feeding level after breeding to avoid the pig from getting too heavy
Gestation
- Graph: the majority of fetal development occurs during the last month of gestation, 3
month, 3 weeks, 3 days = ~112 days
- Table: gilts smaller than sows and are still growing = need to gain more weight
- A grain-soybean meal diet fortified with minerals and vitamins is adequate for sows
o Corn silage, haylage, alfalfa hay & good-quality grass-legume pasture can be used
to provide a portion of the nutrients of the sow
- Excess weight gain during gestation should be avoided:
o Restriction feeding by hand feeding
o Self-feeding high-fiber (bulky) diets (bulk cause physical distension to reduce feed
intake)
o Self-feeding for 2 – 4 hrs every 2 – 3 days
o Associated with reduced milk production, reduced feed intake after farrowing, smaller litter sizes, sows crushing pigs
(piglet mortality)
Farrowing
- Sows sometimes become constipated after being moved into the farrowing quarters, associated with poor feed intake
- A laxative diet will help, accomplished by adding wheat bran or dried beet pulp (for fiber, but dilutes energy which not always
desired since she needs to produce milk too) to the diet at levels of 10% to 15%
Lactation
- Nutrient requirements of the sow during lactation are 3 –
4x higher than during gestation due to high demands for
milk production
- Table: sows components much richer milk
- Graph: major factor for production = # of piglets being
nursed
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Document Summary
Technically it is defined as a female pig under 6 months. Some will be kept to produce piglets, others for meat. Not typically sold for meat as the meat is fatty and tough. Typically have 8 to 12 piglets, 2 3 litters per year. Castration takes place at 2 3 weeks old. Typically kept for meat as they are able to rapidly gain weight. Can be sent to slaughter anywhere from 4 6 months. Less aggressive than a boar, can be kept with gilts. 28 30 weeks of age until he is able to mate. Gilts for breeding purposes should be selected at market weight (typically 6 mo of age), removed from the self-feeder and hand-fed 3 4 kg of feed per day. Gilts are normally bred at 7 8 months of age (could be younger but usually results in smaller litters)
