Selecting Swine 3121 Adam Nash

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

See the difference? Selection has changed over time In the past, short fat lard types. Now: an extremely thick- muscled, long bodied, stress prone type Why ?

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.

I. Visual appraisal II. Production testing III. Pedigree evaluation Selection based on:

I.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

I.Visual Appraisal  NPPC scoring system 1. Unsound- Obvious restriction of movement 2. Intermediate- Structural condition is not serious enough to create risk in movement 3. Sound- free of major or minor structural weakness

II. Swine Performance data  Based on: Sow productivity, growth rate, feed efficiency and carcass merit

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?

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% 30-40%

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

Lets do the math 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 Sow index:= (L-l)+1.0(W-w)

Lets do the math Sow index:= (L-l)+1.0(W-w) Betsy had 9 piglets Her comparable groups had an avg. of 7 Betsy’s piglets avg. 105 lbs. Her comparable group avg. 110 lbs. What do we know?

Performance data: Sow index Index can be used for a number of traits You just have to find out the coefficient

B. Growth weight Number of days required to reach a specific weight Usually 230 pounds

C. Feed efficiency Amount of weight gained per amount of food eaten

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 pound 3:1

Try this Pig needs to weigh 245 in 2 weeks Today he weighs 200 pounds He currently gets 6 lbs of food a day His feed conversion is 2:1 How much does he gain a day? Will he make weight?

Math Problem Gain: 3 pounds a day In 14 days he will weigh 242 What to do?

d. Carcass merit What are the types of Hogs? Primary Lean Cuts = hams, loins, picnics, Boston Butts Meat 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

d. Carcass merit USDA grades 1,2,3,4, Utility Based on yield of lean cuts: Backfat over last rib Muscling 1 is good and Utility is undesirable

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