Production System

A. Sow Herd Enterprise

a. Farrow-to-feeder operation
- Starts with a pregnant gilt/ sow to produce
piglets/ weanlings which are sold to other
raisers who grows them until the marketable
weight
b. Farrow-to-finish operation
- The producer starts with a pregnant gilt/
sow to produce piglets/ weanlings which he
grows them until the slaughter weight
c. Farrow-to-breeder operation
- Starts with a pregnant gilt/ sow to produce the
breeder stocks, i . e., junior boars and
replacement gilts
B. Growing-Finishing Enterprise
- Starts with feeder/ weanlings and carries
them to slaughter weight of about 80 to 95
kg
Profitability is influenced by:
• The availability and continuous supply of
good quality feeder pigs.
• Cost of feeds and feeder pigs.
• The capacity of the operator in avoiding
losses from diseases, pests and other animal
health hazards.
• The price, which the buyers are willing to
pay for the finished hogs.
Advantages:
• The rate of capital turnover is relatively
faster than the sow herd enterprise.
• Avoids the very demanding management
problems associated with breeding sows and
managing their newborn piglets.

Disadvantage:
• Difficulty of predicting
accurately the performance of the
feeder pigs.
C. Boar-for-Hire Enterprise
- Starts with a young boar which the producer
grows and trains to breeder age
Profitability will depend on the following:
• Quality of the boar
• Number and quality of the sows served by
the boar
• Willingness of the costumers to use the boar
and pay the breeding fee
• Capacity of the operator to avoid losses from
mechanical injuries and disease
Advantages:
• It can be started with relatively small capital
and the return to investment comes quickly
• It may serve as a supplementary of primary
source of income by a rural family
• It helps in improving the quality of pigs
produced by the farmers within the service
area of the boar

Disadvantages:
• Possible disease transmission especially the
common diseases of reproduction
 MANAGEMENT OF THE BOAR
1. Buying of Replacement Boars
2. Transporting the Newly Purchased Boar
3. Handling the Newly Purchased Boar
4. Assessing the Boar Breeding Potential
5. Health Care
6. Feeding Boars
7. Housing and Environment
8. Reproductive Phenomena
9. Breeding Frequency
10. Boar-to-Sow Ratio
11. Reproductive Problems Associated with the
boar
1. Buying of Replacement Boars
a. Locate and select a superior boar.
b. Give the boar enough time to adjust to
the present environment.
c. Observe and check the health condition
of the boar.
d. Evaluate the breeding potential and the
actual reproductive performance of the
boar.
e. Look for a replacement for a boar with
questionable fertility or reproductive
performance.
2. Transporting the Newly Purchased Boar
a. Use safe, well-built loading and unloading
facilities.
b. Use a divider in the truck when hauling strange
boars to prevent injury caused by fighting
c. Clean and disinfect the truck before and after
transporting the boar.
d. Provide suitable bedding, sand, sawdust or
straw.
e. Protect against wind, extreme cold, rain or heat.
f. During hot weather, transport boar in a well-
ventilated truck using moist bedding.
g. Avoid hauling boars that have been fed just
before loading, especially during hot weather.
3. . Handling the
Newly Purchased Boar
a. Quarantine
- Isolate new boars for 30 days
b. Blood test
- have a veterinarian make a visual
inspection and take a blood sample
- To test for the boar’s previous exposure to
transmittable disease
c. Parasite treatment
- Use broad-spectrum anthelmintic
d. Vaccination
- One week after deworming, vaccinate
your boar
e. Introducing new herd mates
- Introduce several market animals or place
some of the swine herd manure into
the new boar pen
4. A s s e s s i n g t h eB o a rB r e e
d i n g Potential
a. Semen Evaluation
Characteristics
Volume, ml 150 – 200
Sperm concentration, mil/ ml 200 – 300
Total sperm per ejaculate, billion 30 – 60
Total sperm per week, billion 120- 150
Motile sperm, % 70
Morphologically normal sperm, % 80
Color Creamy white
b. Test Mating
- Provides an opportunity to observe the
boar’s sexual behavior and his ability
to serve the gilt/ sow normally.
- A training phase consists of teaching the
young boar proper p ro cedu re for
mounting a female and successful
reproduction.
5. Health Care
a. P u r c h a s e a b o a r o n l y f r o m a n
established farm and give priority to a
farm with a sound health program.
b. Always ask for the health record of the
prospective boars and closely examine it.
6. Feeding Boars
- Feed boars 2.3 to 3.0 kg ration with a 13
to 17% CP
- The exact level will depend on breeding
load, conditions of the boar and climatic
condition
- Four to 5 li of water per kg of air-dry feed
(tropics)
Body condition of
Boar
7. Housing and Environment
a. Keep boars in comfortable and individual
pen or stall that is draft-free and dry.
b. Use of individual pens or stalls eliminates
fighting, riding and competition of feed.
c. Install high and strong pen partitions and
gates to prevent boars from jumping
over and injuring themselves.
d. Keep boars cool and comfortable during
the hot summer months.
8. Reproductive Phenomena
- The boar should start serving at 8
months of age
- Some boars reach sexual maturity as
early as 100 to 147 days of age
9. Breeding Frequency
Junior Boar Senior Boar
(8 mos. to 1 yr.) (more than 1 yr.)
Service per:

Day 1 2

Week 5 7

Month 20 30
10. Boar-to-Sow Ratio
Two services per sow per heat period
15 sows or less One boar (if boar is at least 15 mos
old)
15 – 25 sows Two boars
One service per heat period
20 sows or less One boar (if young boar)
30 sows or One boar (if boar is at least 15 mos
less old)
11. Reproductive Problems associated with
the Boar
A. Lack of libido and failure of the boar to breed
a. The boar may have a genetic problem that
results in abnormal sex drive.
b. The temperature may be too high.
c. The boar may have been injured during a
breeding attempt.
d. Feet and leg problems.
e. The boars may be too fat and consequently
lacks stamina and libido.
f. The boars are nor properly fed.
g. The boars were not handled properly especially
during the first mating.
B. Failure of the females to conceive through
the mediation of the boar
a. Improper breeding technique of the boar
may be the cause.
b. The boars may be affected with a particular
disease or if motile sperms are present, it
is likely that the sows have a disease.
c. The problem may be the result of general
infertility that could be of genetic origin.
d. There may be a physical or anatomical
defect in the reproductive tract of the male.
CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF GILTS
AND SOWS
1. Prior to pregnancy
2. Management at breeding time
3. Management during gestation
4. Management during farrowing
5. Management after farrowing
1. Prior to pregnancy
Raising and Selecting Replacement Gilts
A. Breed of choice
a. The crossbred female is preferred for
commercial production.
b. They ha ve the added
advantage of hybrid vigor.
B. Source of Breeding Stock
a. Select replacement females from within
your herd.
b. Buying replacement gilts from
the outside source.
Management of developing gilt
- Raise potential gilt replacement in all-
female groups in dry, well-ventilated
pens that provided 0.56 to 0.74 m2 floor
space per animal
Pre-service management of replacement gilt
A. Flushing
- Increasing the feed intake of gilts by 0.5
to 1.0 kg for 10 to 14 days before service
- Self- feed the gilts with a 14 % CP
gestation ration throughout the pre-
service period
B. Recommendations at first breeding
- Breed gilt at 8 mos. Old and 110-120 kg
2. Management at Breeding Time
Developing a breeding schedule
- Determine adequate boar power by
considering the no. of services required
per week
Mating system
- Vary as to amount of labor involved, ease
of obtaining accurate breeding records
and facility requirements
• Hand mating – preferred
mating system
- The operator checks for heat and takes
the female in heat to the boar
• Pen-mating – boar runs with a group of
females
Heat detection
A. Physical Signs
• Vulva may be swollen and red.
• Clear viscous vaginal discharge
• Restless and grunting
• Mounting behavior
• Frequent attempt to urinate with little or
no discharge
B. Techniques
• Haunch-pressure test
- The operator should approach the
sow from behind and rub her sides and
thigh
• Riding-the-back-test
- This is applied by riding or pressing the
back of the animal
• Semen-on-the-snout test
- The semen is squeezed on the snout face of
the animal using a squirt bottle
• Teaser boar
- Allowing a vasectomized boar to mount the
sow
• Sound test
- Use of chomping sounds of the boar
3. Management during
gestation
- Normal gestation
length of swine is 114
days
- Total confinement
system
Feeding level
- 1.8 to 2.3 kg of 14% CP ration
A. Feeding the sow during pregnancy
• Avoid underfeeding or overfeeding the
pregnant sows
• Feedintakeofthesowshouldb
e restricted soon after a productive
mating
• Feeding in excess of her actua
l requirements is not only waste feed
and costly, but may even lead to
B. Feeding the sow in the late pregnancy
- Sufficient maternal nutrition to sustain
proper growth of the embryos and to help
build up the sow’s body tissues in
preparation for lactation
- Greater demand for feed in the last
trimester of pregnancy (increasing at
least 15% of 2.0 kg)
C. Weight during gestation
• Weight gain will represent abt. 23-27 kg
for mature sows and abt. 30-41 kg for
gilts and young sows
• Weight loss at farrowing (litter weight
and fluids) is abt. 22 to 27 kg. A sow’s
body weight should be abt. 163 kg after
weaning.
• The greater the weight gain during
gestation, the greater the weight loss
during lactation.
4. Management during farrowing
Basic farrowing system
• Continuous
•All-in-all-out batch farrowing system
Pre-farrowing system
• Preparing the farrowing quarters
• Wash sows
• Transferring sows
• Parasite control
• Feeding the sow prior to farrowing
Farrowing stalls are
designed to prevent the
sow from crushing
her piglets.
Farrowing
A. Signs of farrowing
1. The sow is restless, nervous and often
bites the wall or stall partition.
2. Starts building a nest.
3. Distinct swelling of the mammary
apparatus.
4. Slackening of the abdominal wall.
5. Milk-let down
B. Supervised farrowing
Reasons:
• Reduce stillborn
pigs
• Minimize crushing
• Prevent starvation
• Prevent predators
• Avoid cannibalism
• Minimize dystocia
Causes of difficulty on birth
• Lack of uterine inertia
• Fetal malpresentation
• Obstruction of the birth canal
• Deviation of the uterus
5. Management after farrowing
Keeping the quarter clean after farrowing
- Remove and properly discard all dead
pigs, mummies, and the placenta
- Minimize the use of water in cleaning the
farrowing pens or stalls
Health care
- Observe the sows regularly
- After weaning, vaccinate the sows against
hog cholera (2x a year)
Feeding during lactation
Steps:
a. Do not feed the sow 12 hrs from farrowing
to prevent the production of too much milk
in excess of the actual needs of the baby pigs.
b. But if the sow appears to be hungry, feed
her lightly with a thin slop of the usual
lactation diet.
c. On the second day, gradually increase the
level of feeding by 0.5 kg to 1.0 kg daily until
full feeding is attained on the 7th to the 10th
day from farrowing.
How to spot sows that are too fat, too thin
 CARE AND MANAGEMENT PIGLET
FROM BIRTH TO WEANING
1. Newly born piglets warm and comfortable to
keep them alive
2. Cutting the umbilical cord
3. Cutting the needle teeth
4. Prevention of tail biting
5. Feeding the suckling pigs with colostrum
6. Identifying the piglets
7. Prevention of baby pig anemia
8. Creep feeding the baby pigs
9. Rearing the orphan pigs
10. Castration
11. Weaning the piglets
1. N e w l y b o r n p i g l e t s w a r m
a n d comfortable to keep them
alive
Age Temperature (°C)
At birth to 1 week old 30 – 32
1 – 6 weeks old 29 - 30
2. Cutting the umbilical cord
Steps:
• Tie the umbilicus about 1 to 2 inches
from the base with a sterile thread.
• Cut the umbilical cord with a blade below
the knot.
• Dip the stump of the cord in a strong
solution of iodine or merthiolate to
prevent infection.
Cutting the umbilical
cord
3. Cutting the needle teeth
- Pigs are born with 4 pairs of sharp teeth
called “black” teeth

Piglets’ teeth
may be
clipped to
prevent
injuring the
sow’s udder.
4. Prevention of tail biting
• Eliminate excess humidity and stale air by
improvingventilationtomakethep
i g s comfortable
• Prepare pig rations in accordance with the
recommendations of experts.
• Wet feeding should be practiced where the
history of the tail biting is serious.
• If worms are present make sure that routine
dosing of the pigs with anthelmintic is by an
integral part of the general management of the
herd.
• Alleviate boredom by any means.
• Early removal of the offenders from the group.
• Cutting the tail to a short stump at birth or at a
later stage.
Piglets’ tails
are docked
to prevent
potential tail
biting later in
life.
5 . Feeding the suckling pigs with
colostrum
- Newborn piglet consumes colostrum
(exceedingly rich in immunoglobulin
molecules) within hours of birth in order
to receive adequate immunity against
infective organisms.
6. Identifying the piglets
A. Earnotching
- The most common method used in
identifying individual pig in a litter
- It comprises of cutting a V shaped
notch/es on specific places along the
bordersoftheearbymeansofa
earnotcher or scissors.
Universal ear notching system guide
B. Tattooing
- It consists of piercing outlines of desired
numbers or figures on the skin inside ear
and the incorporating a black
vegetable pigment into their punctures.
C. Ear Tagging
- Tags or labels are made up of light metal
or strong p lastic with the number
stamped on them.
Two types of tags:
• Self-piercing type
- Has sharp ends and can be directly fixed to
the ear with forceps
• Non-piercing type
- A hole must be made with a puncher or
penknife.
Self-piercing
type
Non-piercing type
Non-piercing type
7. Prevention of piglet anemia
Causes:
• Low body storage of iron in the newborn
pig
• Low iron content of the sow’s colostrum
and milk
• Elimination of contact with the iron from
the soil
• Rapid growth of the nursing pigs
piglet
receive an
iron injection
to prevent
anemia.
Clinical signs of iron deficiency anemia:
• Poor growth
• Rough hair coat
• Inactive and depressed
• Diarrhea
• Pallor (Paleness of gums, eyelids, lips and
skin)
• Anorexia (deficiency of oxygen reaching
the tissue of the body)
Subclinical signs of iron deficiency anemia:
• Hypochromic-microcytic anemia
• Enlarged heart and spleen
• Enlarged fatty liver
• Ascites (accumulation of serious fluid in the
abdomen)
• Clumping of erythroblastic cells in bone
marrow
• Reduced serum iron and percent transferrin
saturation
• Pale internal organs
• Thin, white runny blood
8. Creep feeding the baby pigs
- A good creep feed must be hi g h l y
palatable so that the young pigs will be
influenced to consume more and start
feeding early.
- A small amount of the feed should be
spread in the creep area for 2 to 3 days to
induce feed consumption.
9. Rearing the orphan pigs
Various possibilities of rearing orphan pigs:
• Fostering
• Artificial feeding
• Rotational feeding
10. Castration
- Castration (the removal of the primary sex
organ of the male), is done when the
pigs are about two weeks from birth or
earlier
Castratio
n
11. Weaning the piglets
• Traditional weaning (TW)
-pigs are weaned at 8 to 10 wks of age
• Conventional weaning (CW)
- Pigs are weaned at 5 or 6 to 7 weeks of age
• Early weaning (EW)
- Weaning at 3 to 4 weeks of age
• Very early weaning (VEW)
- Weaning from a few days (3 to 7 day) from
birth to 2 weeks
 CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF
GROWING-FINISHING
PIGS
1. Scour control
2. Gastro-intestinal parasite control
3. External parasite control
4. Vaccination
5. Feeding
1. Scour control
- Scour or diarrhea is the most common
cause of mortality and weight setbacks in
weanling pigs
- Can be minimized through th
e a p p l i c a t i o n of proper feeding
and management procedures
together with the use of appropriate
prophylaxis such as feed additives
2. Gastro-intestinal parasite control

Round
worms
reduce pig
growth rate
by robbing
nutrients.
Losses due to worm infection:
• Slow growth
• Poor fed conversion
• Reduced carcass value
• Condemnation of carcass
• Death of the animal
Control measures:
• Deworming of growing-finishing pigs 1 or
2 weeks after weaning and 2nd treatment
at 1 to 2 months after the first treatment
• Proper cleaning and environmental
disinfection of pig facilities
3. External parasite control

Mange mite
Losses due to external parasite:
• Sow’s milk production declines and the
piglets suffer
• Dirty teats as a result of vigorous and
persistent scratching expose the piglets to
more infections
• Anemia may arise
• Damage to skin may give rise to secondary
infections
• Triggers the occurrence of tail biting in pigs
• Growth in piglets and growing-finishing
pigs is reduced
• Feed efficiency is reduced
4. Vaccination
Do’s in vaccination:
• Purchase vaccines from reliable source
• Store vaccines properly
• Use c l ean and p r o p e r l y s teri l i
zed vaccinating equipment
• Inject the right dose, in the right place
and in the right way
• Rub the area after injection to spread the
vaccine
Do’s in vaccination (continued):
• Avoid repetitive vaccination
• Change needles as frequently as possible
• Vaccinate pigs when their skin is dry to
reduce chances of introducing infections
with the needle
• Choose a dry still day for vaccination
whenever possible
Don’ts in vaccination:
• Do not vaccinate pigs less than 6 wks of
age
• Do not vaccinate unhealthy, heavily
parasitized and severely malnourished
pigs.
• Do not vaccinate pigs, which are recently
exposed to stress (weaning, change in
feeding systems, castration, etc.)
• Do not vaccinate pigs which are recently
exposed to infection
Don’ts in vaccination (continued):
• Do not leave unprotected vaccines on hot
days
• Do not use the same syringe for vaccine
and serum
• Do not vaccinate the animals in dusty
environments or under windy conditions
• Vaccination should be not be considered
as a substitute for proper nutrition and
stockmanship.
5. Feeding
Nutrient recommendations for
swine (PHILSAN, 2010)
Nutrient Booste Pre-starter Starter Grower Finisher
r 8-22 kg 23-40 41-60 kg >60 kg
2-8 kg kg

Crude protein, % 21.30 20.0 18.30 16.80 14.40