School Science Lessons
Pig Project
Updated: 2008-07-16
Please send comments to: J.Elfick@uq.edu.au
See also: Interesting websites
Table of contents
1.0 Introduction to pig projects
2.0 Different kinds of pigs - pig breeds
3.0 Describing pigs
4.0 Digestive system
5.0 Heart and lungs
6.0 Reproductive system
7.0 Making pigs grow fast - conversion of energy
8.0 Planning and building a piggery
9.0 Food and nutrition
9.5 Rations
10.0 Diseases and pests
11.0 Climate
12.0 Management - stock identification, watering, feeding, observation, weighing
13.0 Management - when pigs arrive
14.0 A post-mortem
15.0 Make a grazing pen
16.0 Make a farrowing pen
17.0 Mating
17.1 Culling
18.0 Farrowing
19.0 Weaning
20.0 Castration
22.0 Visit a piggery
23.0 Keep a diary
24.0 Keep records - costing
Preface
Before planning a pig project in an educational institution or at home, get the necessary permission from the principal of the institution and the local office of the Ministry of Agriculture. Also, you should discuss your proposed project with the local livestock inspector. In some countries, permission from the Ministry of Health is also needed.
1.0 Management Systems
The aim of this project is to teach students new ways of keeping pigs.
1. Discuss the plans for a village or school piggery. How many pigs will you keep? How much sweet potato must you plant? What kind of protein food will you buy? How much will it cost us to start a piggery? (establishment costs). How will you get this money?
2. Ask for advice from the Department of Agriculture (Ministry of Agriculture) or local livestock officer.
3. Write letters to the Agriculture Department or a private supplier to order pigs. e.g. two pure-bred weaners, one female and one castrated male.
4. Order feed and worm medicines from suppliers.
1.1 The three pig production systems are: extensive, semi-intensive and intensive
1. Extensive system: The extensive system is the traditional way of running pigs used by villagers. Let the pigs to run free and to find food for themselves, but you may restrict them by fencing or leg-ties. Their growth rate may be because of poor nutrition. The pig finds worms and insects for protein and grass and roots for energy. This system suits the village pig because it can withstand a harsh environment and poor nutrition. However, this system is not suitable for a commercial business. Modern breeds of pigs have been bred and selected for more advanced systems.
2. Semi-intensive system: The semi-intensive system usually allows us to keep the breeding herd outside in fenced enclosures, but keep the piglets inside houses in pens. Plant the fenced enclosures with pasture or a grazing crop, e.g. sweet potato. Give each fenced enclosure simple shelter and strong fences. You need several fenced enclosures because you must rest each fenced enclosure to prevent a build-up of internal parasite eggs. Always give grazing pigs an additional protein food, e.g. pig concentrate or soybeans, otherwise growth rates will be low, pigs will be malnourished, and profits will be small. If you feed a staple food, e.g. sweet potato, the supplement need be only a protein rich food. The semi-intensive system does nor require a high level of management and saves labour because it releases the farmer for other duties or allows him to keep more pigs for his available labour. The main limiting factor with the semi-intensive system is the availability of land.
3. Intensive system: The intensive system of producing pigs involves keeping the pigs in a restricted area and providing all feed and water. Most commercial piggeries are based on this system that can be very profitable if the level of management is high. British or European breeds are the most suited for intensive farming. These pigs can achieve a rapid and an efficient growth rate and are very good breeders. However, they cannot stand low levels of management like the bush native pig.
1.2. An example of a semi-intensive system is as follows:
1. Area required: 0.5 hectares (0.5 ha) flat well-drained land.
2. Number of Pigs: 10 fatteners each year.
3. Fencing Materials: 93 posts or star pickets, 8 rolls X 50 m pig wire, 4 rolls X 100 m barb wire.
4. Housing: Bush material shelter.
5. Feed: 8 x 50 Kg bags pig concentrate. Feed 230 g concentrate each head each day.
6. Water and feed containers.
1.3. Plough the land.
Use one post every 3 m for the fence. Attach pig wire to inside the posts with larger squares at the top. Run one barb wire 20 cm from the ground to prevent pigs damaging fences. Mark land into 0.05 hectare plots, 50 m X 10 m. Plant sweet potato or other grazing crop in plots one to ten every few weeks depending on the size of the pigs. Put five weaner pigs in plot one when the grazing crop is mature. To prevent fighting for food, use five separate containers to feed the pigs 230 g protein concentrate each day. The pigs should average 300 grams a day live weight gain during a six month period. So if the weaners weigh 14 kg when put in the first plot, they should weigh about 68 kg six months after they started grazing. Internal parasites are not a problem because the pigs spend no more than six weeks in any plot and do not return to that plot for another 8 months. Avoid land where pigs have been traditionally grazed because it may be infested with parasites.
1.4. Young weaner pigs
 Ask your local agriculture office how to buy young weaner pigs to start this pig project. If you buy female pigs you can breed from them later. If you buy castrated males, you can fatten them then sell them. Later you can grow enough energy food for many pigs. Plant a crop of about 1 ha sweet potato or cassava to provide energy food for the pigs. Start this project when this crop is almost ready to use. Decide on what kind of protein food you will feed the pigs. Can you buy fish waste or fish silage or other protein foods? Protein foods are a problem because they are expensive to buy. Village people may not understand that pigs need these foods. Later you must buy worm medicine and mineral and vitamin supplements.
1.5. Study the local pigs and a local piggery:
1. Describe the village pigs.
2. How old are the pigs when killed or sold?
3. How big do the pigs grow until killed or sold?
4. How do village people cook the pigs?
5. What is the importance of pigs in village society? Are pigs used for marriage feasts, ceremonial exchange, a source of protein in the diet, a source of income?
6. Describe how village people keep their pigs. Do they provide housing and protection for the pigs? Do they feed the pigs? Do they give medicines to the pigs?
2.0 Different kinds of pigs, pig breeds
See diagram 59.2: Pig breeds
2.1 Village pigs
In South Pacific countries the village pig may be a short dumpy animal with a coloured coat, short erect ears, long narrow head, broad shoulders and light hindquarters. The broad shoulders are used to get into bush and jungle and are very strong. It is a slow growing animal with a maximum yearly live weight gain of about 50 kg, but with good feeding it may be capable of 75 kg live weight gain each year. The sow is usually a very good mother. The average litter size is about four weaned with one litter produced every 12 -18 months. The piglets are very small at birth and might weight five kilograms at two months of age. The sow usually loses much condition during lactation and normally needs a period of fattening before mating again. The carcass is very fat with little meat but is keenly sought after at traditional celebrations. The village pig is ideally suited to its environment and traditional management practices. In the South pacific Islands, the colour of the village pigs is usually black or black and white. Short nosed pigs are seen in some villages. They have large rounded ears and are usually a brown colour. A common village pig is the agouti that is usually yellowish brown in colour and has a long straight nose. The ears are erect. Young agouti pigs have stripes running along their bodies. Other village pigs are like the agouti but may be coloured black, or black and white, or red. Some pigs have a large white band over their shoulders. They are called saddleback pigs. Some pigs have almost no hair. They are a brown colour. Some pigs have two bits of skin handing down from their throats, called "throat tassels".
2.2 Berkshire breed
It is a black pig with white patches on the face, the legs and the tip of the tail. The face is curved ("dished"), and the ears are held erect. Like all British breeds, it moves with a stilted walk because of its long body and it walks on its toes. Its forequarters are not as well developed as in the village pig but its hindquarters are much bigger. The sow is a very good breeder producing regular and large litters of nine or more under good management conditions. She is also usually of quiet nature and is a good mother producing strong, healthy and large piglets of up to 15 kg weight at weaning.
2.3 Tamworth breed
It is not used much nowadays. It is a large red pig with a long, narrow snout and erect ears and a long straight face. It is a hardy animal and a good mother producing litters of 9 piglets or more.
2.4 Large White breed
It is a big pig with no dark colour. This breed is the most popular breed of pig but needs good management. It is very easily sunburnt. It is a very good breeder with litter sizes of more than 10 piglets. It has a long body producing carcasses with plenty of meat. It has erect ears and a straight snout. It is a fast and efficient grower and you can use it for crossbreeding.
2.5 Landrace breed
It is a white pig with very long sides and grows very big if it is given good food. The Landrace breed is important for the production of quality bacon pigs. It is smaller than the Large White but has much larger hams. It has large floppy ears which fall over its eyes. It si very easily sunburnt. It produces good litters. It can be used in crossbreeding to produce bacon pigs.
2.6 Wessex Saddleback breed
It has a distinctive white "saddle" across its shoulders with the rest of the body being black. It is a relatively slow maturing animal but is an excellent mother which produces plenty of milk. It tends to run to fat quickly and is mainly used as a crossbred mother. It has large, black floppy ears, is shorter than the white breeds but is usually a much more placid sow.
2.7 Large Black breed
It has large floppy ears which fall over its eyes. It is a large pig which is slow to mature and runs to fat quickly. It is also a very good mother.
2.8  Crossbreeds
The crossbreeds of both the Berkshire and Tamworth cross and the Berkshire and village pig cross are good breeders which produce good litters. You should practice cross breeding when no single breed of pig is suited to your needs. Some people may want to buy meat from a white pig only and not a coloured pig. Other people might prefer coloured and very fat pigs. If the farmer wants his pigs to be hardy and strong in case the buyer wants to grow more fat on the pig before it is killed he will probably include the local village pig in his crossbred.
3.0 Describing pigs
See diagram 59.3: Parts of a pig
To teach this lesson properly the students must look at a pig. Either bring a small pig to the school and tie it up, or take students to see a pig near the school. Name the various parts of the body. Notice whether the face is straight or curved. The tough strong snout can be used to dig in the soil. The eyes are small. Notice whether the ears are small or large and whether they point up or hang down The neck is short so it will try to put its feet into a food trough unless the trough is raised. The shoulder should not be thin and sharp pointed but be smooth and round. The back should be long and straight. The loin should have no hollow. The hams of the back legs should be rounded. The pig should stand straight on its feet. The legs must be strong. A healthy pig has a shiny coat of hairs, bright eyes and is very active.
4.0 Digestive system
See diagram 59.4: Digestive system
The food goes from the mouth down a long tube called the gullet (oesophagus), then into a bag called the stomach where the food is digested with acid. After the food leaves the stomach, it goes into a long tube called the small intestine. The first part of the intestine is a short section called the duodenum. The liver is a large red organ joined to the duodenum by a small tube. Also a small pink organ called the pancreas is joined to the duodenum. The liver produces bile and the pancreas produces enzymes. These liquids go into the duodenum and to complete the digestion of the food. Digested food passes through the walls of the small intestine into the blood. The blood then takes this food to all parts of the body. Worms may live in the stomach and small intestine where they take some of the digested food of the pig. Too many worms may even block the small intestine and kill the pig. The food not absorbed by the small intestine passes into a bigger tube called the large intestine. Water passes out of the food and is absorbed in the blood. The remaining food passes on to become faeces (manure) and this is passed out of the pig.
5.0 Heart and lungs
See diagram 59.5: Respiratory system
1. The circulatory system
Blood is the red fluid that goes to all parts of the body. Blood takes food and oxygen to all the parts of the body. Blood also brings waste products from the body to the kidneys where they are passed out as urine. The blood also takes carbon dioxide gas from the body and puts this waste product into the lungs where it is breathed out. The heart is a pump that sends the blood all around the body. Tubes called arteries carry the blood from the heart to all parts of the body. Tubes called veins bring the blood back from the body to the heart.
2. The breathing system (respiratory system)
The pig breathes in air that contains oxygen gas. The air goes down a tube called the trachea. This tube branches into two and the air is taken into the lungs. The lungs are two large pink organs that lie in the chest. They are spongy because they are full of small air sacs. As air comes into the lungs, the oxygen of the air goes into tiny tubes called blood vessels. Simultaneously, carbon dioxide gas that is a waste goes from the blood back to the air in the lungs. Then it can be breathed out.
6.0 Reproductive system
See diagram 59.6: Reproductive system
6.1 Male pigs are called boars, and female pigs are called sows. A young sow is called a gilt.
6.2 The chief breeding organs in the male are the testes, the urethra and the penis. The male sex cells are called sperms. They are made inside the two testes. When mating takes place the sperms leave the testes and go into a tube called the urethra. This tube goes right down the middle of the penis, then the sperms can be put inside the vagina of the sow.
6.3 The chief breeding organs in the sow are the ovaries, the uterus and the vagina. The eggs of the sow are made in two small organs called the ovaries. When they leave the ovaries, the eggs go into the small tubes at the ends of the uterus. They go up this tube into the uterus. When two pigs mate, the sperms from the boar are put into the vagina of the sow. Movements of the vagina and the uterus take the sperms up to where the eggs are lying. Then a sperm will join with each egg. This egg is then fertilized and it will grow into a little pig inside the uterus.
7.0 Making pigs grow fast - conversion of energy
7.1 The main reasons why some pigs grow fast and others grow slowly is how well they change the energy stored in their food into energy stored in their body and the energy they use to move about and keep warm or cool. Some breeds of pig can convert the energy stored in food to energy stored in their body better than other breeds. When you eat food, the chemical energy is changed into heat energy, to keep us warm and let us move. Some energy will be stored in our muscles and fat. Similarly, when a pig eats food, it uses the chemical energy in this food to make meat and fat and to give muscular energy to move about.
7.2 Pigs change energy in their food into energy stored in their meat and fat and their energy for movement. However, energy may be lost if: (a) The pig feels too hot or too cold. (b) The pig is not a good breed. (c) The food is not the best kind. (d) The pig has a disease or has too many worms inside it. (5) The pig is bullied by other pigs. (6) The pig is not given good care. The latter are called the six factors of production. Pigs will grow fast if all these 6 factors are good. Then not much energy will be lost.
8.0 Planning and building a piggery
See diagram 59.8.1: Slatted floor pig house | See diagram 59.8.2: Piggery layout | See diagram: Insulated concrete floor
8.1. Piggery site
Select a well-drained place slightly sloping, near running water. It should not be close to people's houses but not too far away so bad people can steal the pigs. When selecting a suitable site for a piggery think of the following points:
1. Availability of water - a lactating sow may need 20 litres each day and water is heavy and difficult to carry!
2. If food gardens are planted around the pig house not much work in carrying the food will have to be done.
3. Nearness to a road for transport of pigs in and out and visits from a livestock officer.
4. Build a piggery on a well-drained site where the effluent can be drained away by drains otherwise poor drainage allows effluent to collect and lie in low patches causing bad smells and attracting flies. Piggery effluent should not drain into rivers because it causes pollution problems and garden fertilizer is lost. Pig manure is high in nitrogen and is a rich garden fertilizer.
5. Direction of prevailing wind - wind and rain should not blow into the pens and make the pigs uncomfortable.
6. Aspect - in cooler areas build the house to make maximum use of direct sunlight by facing the house to the north (in the southern hemisphere) or south (in the northern hemisphere).
8.2 Piggery buildings
You do not need to make buildings from permanent materials, e.g. concrete, galvanized iron, bricks, arc mesh and steel, if you have adequate supplies of bush materials. If the pig is sheltered from wind, rain and sun, is provided with a comfortable environment and is easily managed then any form of housing is adequate.
8.3 There are four types of floors:
8.3.1 An earth floor
It is covered with 60 cm of dry grass deep litter
8.3.2 A slatted floor
It  which protects pigs from worms which fall through the slats with the excreta. The floor should be 35 cm above ground, two cm between slats. Slatted floors are used in hot climates and where cement is not available or it is too expensive to use. In coastal areas slats allow maximum ventilation in areas where humidity and temperature are high. In cold areas include a sleeping area of dried grass on slats with a draining area of slats only. The gaps between slats should be no wider than 2 cm if piglets are housed. Remove all splinters from the timber so avoiding foot injuries. Raise the floor at least 35 cm above ground level to make removal of dung easier. The floor supports must be strong enough to take the weight of the heaviest pig. Pigs can walk about easier if you align the slats across the pen and not along it.
8.3.3 A concrete sloping floor
It that must be washed clean every day. It may give the pigs sore feet. Concrete floors are easy to build, long lasting and easily maintained. Make an insulated floor because it keeps its heat and is neither cold nor damp. If a pig sleeps on a cold and damp floor, it will develop arthritis in its joints and respiratory problems. So do not make a conventional concrete floor of sand, cement and aggregate laid on bare earth. An insulated floor includes a barrier which prevents soil moisture from moving up into the floor and also prevents warmth from being lost to the soil. In this type of floor the plastic sheeting acts as the barrier preventing soil moisture from dampening the floor while at the same time preventing heat loss to the soil. If a pig lies on the cement, some of its body heat is lost to heat the cement. As the layer of cement is quite thin this heat then moves downward into the air spaces between the stones. The longer a pig lies on the floor the more heat is stored in the air spaces and the warmer the floor becomes. Stones are not the only material suited for this purpose, almost anything which can trap air beneath the cement surface is suitable. Egg cartons and beer bottles are equally as effective. The sheet of plastic prevents this stored warmth from being lost to the soil which is what would happen if the plastic were not there. The top layer of cement has no stones in it and is 2.5 cm thick. If you use a steel float to achieve a smooth surface, the surface of the concrete is too slippery. Use a wood float finish that is neither too rough nor too smooth to provide a safe and comfortable surface for both the pigs and the farmer.
8.3.4 Deep litter floors
They require dry fibrous material for bedding. Dry material absorbs moisture and produces enough heat to cause the material to be broken down into compost. The temperature is enough to destroy fly eggs and may even be high enough to destroy internal parasite eggs such as round worm eggs. Put a layer of large stones on the ground and put a 40 cm layer of chopped dried grass on top. Water and feed are placed in separate containers in the pen. Each day, add enough grass to cover the floor area. Do not remove dung, or urine or wet material from the pen. Use this litter as a floor for up to 12 months. The litter builds up so you need pen walls at least 2 m high. The litter is an excellent fertilizer and can be used as a mulch for vegetable gardens.
8.4 Walls and fences
They must be made of strong materials. Pigs can burrow under and through fences, and boars can break them down. For walls, use split hard wood one metre long nailed vertically inside the house frame, five cm apart. You can make the roof with leaf, but it must keep off rain and sun. Make fences 2 m high using sharp stakes. For semi-intensive projects use fences to divide the land into small areas where pigs spend only one month then move to a fresh area.
8.5  Feed troughs and water troughs
You can make feed troughs and water troughs from tree trunks or half petrol drums. They must be easy to clean with no narrow corners inside. Some projects use a portable house and troughs which are moved from area to area. Do not use the same area again for pigs for 2-3 months.
8.6. Piggery design
8.6.1 The problem is to design a piggery for all classes of pigs without making it too complicated or expensive to build. The pen space needs are as follows: 1.0 m2 per pig for weaners and growers, 2.5 m2 per pig: for dry, pregnant or farrowing sows and lone boars; 5.0 m2 for boar with sow; 10.0 m2 for the mating pen. Keep two sows penned together and one or more sows with the boar in small piggeries. If five or more sows, keep the boar penned separately. If six week weaning and the farrowing pen is used six times a year, a three sow piggery needs only one farrowing pen.
8.6.2 A weaner project needs only one holding pen for every three sows. A porker project needs three pens for every three sows, so that each pen holds a litter of pigs to market weight.
8.6.3 For a 3 sow one boar piggery, the pen needs are as follows: boar and sow 10 m2 (2.5 m x 4 m); sow 5 m2(2.5 m x 2 m); farrowing pen 2.5 m2 (2.5 m x 2 m); 3 growers 7.0 m2 (2.5 m x 3 m).
8.6.4 Include floor slope in the pen design otherwise water and urine will collect making the pen unhygienic and uncomfortable to live in. Put the slope away from the sleeping area and not more than 1.3 cm in 30 cm. Put the drain to take the effluent away from the pen outside the pen and with a slope of 25 cm in 300 cm.
8.6.5 Walls must be strong enough to prevent movement of stock between pens. The farrowing pen must be draught free and need solid sheeting 40 cm high surrounding the pen.
8.6.6 Include a creep area in the farrowing pen to protect the piglets from the sow and provide an area away from the sow for feeding a high protein creep ration. Make a simple creep area by placing a gate across one corner of the pen. It must be strong enough to withstand the weight of the sow against it and be high enough off the floor to let the piglets get underneath. An alternative to using a creep is to lock the sow into a crate so that she only has enough room to stand up and lie down. The sow must lower herself down slowly, reducing the chances of crushing the piglets that do not need a creep area because the sow is locked in the crate. the head of the sow must be at the highest point of the floor and the rail near the drain. To get the tail to drain position you need "walk through" type of crate with two gates in the pen walls or you must be able to back the sow into the crate. Use timber or steel for the crate.
8.6.7 Older pigs are more resistant to infection than are younger pigs so young and old pigs should be kept apart. So put the farrowing pen at one end, the boar pen at the other end with the pens between graded so the pigs move towards the boar pen as they get older. Build the drains outside the pens and running away from the young stock. To avoid disease spreading from pen to pen and allow more room inside the pen.
8.6.8 Keep worms away from worms by putting the pigs in a slat floor house. The eggs of the worms are in the manure of the pigs. If you keep pigs on the soil, they can eat some manure and the worm eggs go inside the pig again and live there. However, if you keep a pig in a house that has holes between the floor boards, the pig's manure drops through the floor on to the ground. This means that the pig is reported from its manure, and of course this means that the worm eggs cannot get back into the pig.
8.7 Summary - the pig house
The important points about the pig house are as follows:
1. The floor of the house must be 3 X 3 m.
2. The floor of the house must be raised about 60 cm above the ground.
3. The floor boards should have spaces of 2 cm between them.
4. The roof must be rain- proof.
5. The high side of the roof should face in a direction where some sun can shine a little way into the house on this side: but there must always be shade in some part of the house.
6. The house must be strongly built.
8.8. The school piggery
8.8.1 Discuss the site of the house, the raised and slatted floor, the roof, and the position.
8.8.2 Take students outside and choose a good place for the pig house on a slight slope.
8.8.3 Construct a loading ramp at the end of the piggery that is strong and of the right height.
8.8.4 Make an inspection crate from timber or steel pipe that is strong and open so any treatment can be given to a pig. Use the same crate scrubbing sows ready to farrow or for pigs being taken to market. You can use a portable crate for trucking live pigs from one piggery to another.
8.8.5 Planning for after weaning
Plan what you will do when the weaners have been separated from the sow. You cannot keep all the pigs because they will eat too much food and this will be expensive. Make a plan about how you will run the piggery, remembering that you cannot breed pigs unless you have a boar and a sow. You may decide that at the school you will always keep two breeding sows and a boar and you will sell all the young pigs after they are weaned. However, if you decide to keep three big pigs, you will need to be sure that you can plant enough sweet potato to feed them all. You will need 2 ha of sweet potato. If you think this is too much sweet potato to plant and grow, then you may decide to have only one breeding sow, and one boar. Also, think about the houses you will need; one for the boar, and one each for the breeding sows and perhaps one also for the weaners until you sell them. In some villages there may be five sows but no boar, or four boars but no sow. It is important to keep some pigs for breeding. It is foolish to kill and eat a boar if it is the only boar you have.
9.0 Food and nutrition
9.1 Protein foods
Protein is essential for growth and development, reproduction and for the maintenance of body tissue. Pigs will not grow fast if they do not have enough protein to eat but the supply of protein is the biggest problem in pig feeding. Protein foods are expensive to buy. In every 50 kg pounds of pig feed there should be about 12 kg of protein. The following foods are rich in proteins: (The figures show the number of kg of protein in every 100 kg of the protein food.): Coconut meal 20%, fishmeal 60%, fish silage 60%, meat meal 45%, pea pods 60%, soybeans 50%, Leucaena leaves 25%, Papaya leaf 20%. In some countries the best protein food to use is fish silage. Fishmeal is excellent but is expensive. Soybeans are a source of protein. Protein concentrate may include fishmeal, soybean meal, sunflower meal, cottonseed meal, vitamins and minerals. It is usually sold as 50 - 57% protein meal. The period of maximum growth in pigs is during the first six months of life so during this period the pig needs higher level of protein than during adult life. Mix different protein foods to provide the best protein quality. The levels of protein required is as follows:

Weight Class Protein needed by pig
3 -30 kg Sucker 22%
30 - 60 kg Weaner 18%
60 - 140 kg Porker 16%
140 - 180 kg Baconer 14%
9.2 Energy foods:
See also 23.9.0.1 The Joule /calorie
Almost any starchy food can be used for pigs, but there must be enough to satisfy the pigs. The following are all good energy foods: sweet potato, taro, cassava, sago, papaya, copra, fresh coconuts, banana, maize grain, polished rice, sorghum grain, yam. Carbohydrates supply energy used for warmth, for movement and working of the body. They include sugars and starches. Pigs with increased need for carbohydrate have an increased appetite, they eat more. Different classes of pigs have different energy needs as follows:

Weight Class Energy needed (kilocalories)
5 kg Sucker 1,280
12 kg Sucker 3,200
25 kg Weaner 4,800
45 kg Porker 8,000
70 kg Baconer 9,200
230 kg Pregnant sow 10,000
210 kg Lactating sow 18,800
180 kg Adult boar 9,500
9.3. Minerals
Pigs need small amounts of minerals that are found in soil. If pigs can run on soil, they will get enough minerals. If they are kept in a house, they must be given a little mineral supplement that is a mixture of the minerals they need. In some countries this supplement can be obtained from the Department of Agriculture. Shortage of calcium and phosphorus will result in reduced appetite, slow growth, lameness and stiffness, weak bones, reduced reproduction and may cause dead or weak piglets at birth. Shortage of salt, sodium chloride, causes reduced appetite, slow growth and poor skin. Shortage of iron causes anaemia and affects appetite, growth and reproduction performance.
9.4. Vitamins
9.4.1 Small amounts of vitamins are needed. They are found in fresh green leaves or grass. If you give pigs some green feed every day, they will get most of the vitamins they need. Vitamin D is needed for efficient and rapid growth, good health in new born pigs, and for bone growth. A shortage will lead to stiffness, stilted walk, broken bones, rear end paralysis and weak bones. Sunlight, fish oils and sun cured hay should overcome any shortages. Nevertheless, if they are kept in a house and never get any sun, they will need to be given a small amount of Vitamin D in their feed. On the other hand designing the house is possible so that sunlight comes in on one side and then no extra Vitamin D is needed.
9.4.2 Vitamin A (carotene) is needed for the normal working of the eye and of the respiratory, digestive, reproductive and urinary systems. A shortage causes slow growth, poor appetite, staggering walk, convulsions and paralysis, Yellow corn or green grass should provide enough vitamin A.
9.4.3 Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is needed for the use of carbohydrates by the body. Shortage of Vitamin B1 causes slow growth, decreased appetite, vomiting, below normal temperature and general weakness of the body. Niacin is another vitamin needed by the body to use carbohydrates. There are many other vitamins needed for body functions and good health.
9.5 Rations
9.5.1 Sweet potato based ration
1. Feed daily 0.5 kg 50% protein concentrate to every pig over weaning age + sweet potato or other staple crop ad lib (as much as they can eat).
2. For working boars (sexually active boars), restrict sweet potato to 6 kg each day to prevent them becoming too big.
3. For lactating sows, feed 1 kg 50% protein concentrate each day + sweet potato ad lib. When lactation stops, return to 0.5 kg level + lesser sweet potato. 4. Suckling piglets start eating solid foods at about two weeks of age. From about seven days onwards they nose through the sow's ration. When they start nibbling at about ten days of age, start feeding them separately with a different ration of their own called a creep ration.
4. Feed the creep ration in the creep area of the farrowing pen where the sow cannot get at it. The creep ration is a 20% protein ration consisting of three parts protein concentrate + five parts cooked sweet potato. Mix the concentrate with the sweet potato and sprinkle sugar on the mix to attract the piglets.
5. Feed the creep feed until the piglets are eight weeks of age. Young piglets easily get stomach upsets so cook their food twice daily and put it in cleaned containers. Piglets may weigh as much as 18 kg at six weeks of age as a result of correct creep feeding. Change rations slowly to avoid piglet stomach upsets.
9.5.2 Grain-based ration
This ration is a common in many countries. It is a very efficient ration and no additional minerals or vitamins are required. The formulations are as follows:
1. Creep Feed: (20% protein) 3 parts grain to 1 part concentrate
2. Grower Ration: (16% protein) 3 parts grain to 1 part concentrate
3. Adult Ration: (14% protein) 9 parts grain to 1 part concentrate.
4. Feed the ration ad lib until 40 kg live weight then restrict feed to prevent excess fat.
5. Restrict porkers to 1.5 kg each day.
6. Restrict baconers to 2 kg each day.
7. Restrict adult stock to 2.5 kg each day, but feed lactating sows 2.5 kg + 0.5 kg extra for each piglet they are suckling.
9.5.3 Feeding by-products
Rice bran is high in fibre.
1. For adult pigs feed up to 40% of the ration.
2. For younger pigs, feed up to 25% of the ration. Copra meal is a by-product from the oil extraction process.
3. For growing pigs feed up to 30% of the ration.
4. For adult pigs feed up to 40% of the ration.
9.5.4 Cost of different rations
You can compare the prices of different foods that are available is by calculating the "unit price of protein". For example, if protein concentrate costs $50 each bag containing 45% protein, then the cost of 1%, or 1 unit of protein, is $50 /45 = 1.1, so 1%, or 1 unit of protein, costs 1.1 cents. You can apply the same calculation to the carbohydrates in the ration.
9.5.5 Making up rations
When making up food rations to feed pigs remember the following points:
1. Protein - farrowing sows and young weaners need 18% protein in their feed to grow well, but older pigs can grow well with 16% protein.
2. Include a vitamin supplement if you keep pigs in a pig house.
3. Include a mineral supplement you keep pigs in a pig house.
9.5.6 Different rations
R1 Ration for young pigs and farrowing sows (ration 1) rice bran 32 Kg, sweet potato or cassava 32 Kg, fish silage 29 Kg, fishmeal 7 Kg. Total =100 Kg
or (ration 2) fishmeal 10 Kg, soybean meal 18 Kg, sweet potato 68 Kg, green feed 3 Kg, salt 0.5 Kg, mineral mixture 0.5 Kg. Total = 100 Kg
R2 Ration for older pigs and dry sows: (ration 3) rice bran 35 Kg, sweet potato or cassava 35 Kg, fish silage 25 Kg, fishmeal 5 Kg. Total = 100 kg
or (ration 4) fishmeal 10 Kg, soybean meal 14 Kg, sweet potato or cassava 72 Kg, green feed 3 Kg, Salt 0.5 Kg, mineral mixture 0.5 Kg. Total = 100 Kg
9.5.7 Feeding sows
When the sow is pregnant and when she is lactating (making milk) for the suckling piglets, she will need much good food. Buying this food will be expensive. To pay for the sow's food you can fatten a castrated male pig and sell it when it is big enough. When the castrated male pig is over 50 kg it can be given a little less protein food, but it will only grow big if it has enough to eat each day However, the sow still needs much protein, so separate these two pigs and feed each separately
9.5.8 Rations summary
1 Pigs grow slowly is that they do not get enough to eat. If you want to grow pigs properly, you must think about the kinds of foods pigs need, how much food you should give them and how you should feed them.
2 Pigs need four kinds of foods:
2.1. Starchy foods (energy foods) to give them energy to move and to keep their body warm.
2.2 Protein foods that the pig needs to increase its muscle (meat).
2.3 Vitamins for a healthy diet
2.4. Minerals for a healthy diet and to make bone.
3. List foods rich in the 4 kinds of food.
4 Explain how to feed the pigs the four kinds of food.
5. Mix foods so the pig gets enough protein with its energy foods.
6. Describe different rations.
7. Describe the rations you will use in your pig project.
10.0 Diseases and pests
See diagram 59.10: Pig diseases
10.1 Internal parasites
The large roundworm (Ascaris suis), probably causes more trouble to pig farmers than any other internal parasite. They may be up to 25 cm long as adults and are usually found in the small intestine but also in the stomach and liver. The female worm lays up to 200,000 eggs a day which pass out in the faeces. These eggs may become infective in four to eight weeks or take several months under colder conditions. By eating infected worm eggs from pasture or contaminated pens the pig allows the eggs to hatch in the intestines. The larvae leave the intestines and travel to the lungs via the liver. At the lungs they are coughed up and swallowed to reenter the intestine where they grow to maturity and start the cycle again. Infection causes most damage to pigs between three and four months of age which is also the period of fastest growth. The infected pigs are very slow growers, stunted and may cough frequently, have diarrhoea, strain to pass faeces and have a pot belly. Clean all pens thoroughly between batches of pigs. Wash sows before they are put in the farrowing pen. Any mud on the sow usually contains worm eggs. Before washing the sow, dose it with a pig wormer two weeks before she is ready to farrow. Grazing pigs must follow a regular and long rotation to minimize infection. In tropical areas, spell the land between pigs for at least four to six months.
Worm infection can be prevented. The adult worms inside the pigs lay eggs. These eggs are too small for us to see by eye. They pass out of the pig in the manure or in the urine in the case of the kidney worm. The pig is always putting its nose into the soil or on the ground looking for food and it also puts its nose into the manure. So the pig can easily eat worm eggs. The eggs hatch in the pig and grow making the pig sick.
You can prevent worms if you remember the following points:
1. Start the herd with pigs that have no worms. The pigs you buy from the Department of Agriculture will not have many worms.
2. Put the pigs into a place where no other pigs have lived, e.g. a clean pig house or onto a grassed area where other pigs have not been. 3. Separate the pigs from their manure by keeping the pigs on a slat floor house where the manure and urine will drop down to the soil below.
Give the pigs worm medicine every 12 weeks to kill the worms. Mix the medicine with the food. Nilverm and Thiabendazole are good worm medicines, but ask your local livestock officer what medicine to use and how much of it to give the pigs. If pigs are kept in a slat floor house or a concrete pen, they cannot eat any soil. So you must give them a mineral supplement in the feed or some clean soil to eat. Take this soil from a clean place where no other pigs have been.
10.2 External parasites
Sarcoptic Mange is fairly common in pigs of all ages. You can just see this mite, Sarcoptic scabies var suis, against a black background. They are about 5 mm long and a yellow colour. They dig burrows into the pig skin and lay eggs. A female mite lays 10 - 15 eggs during 12 -15 days, then dies in the burrow. The eggs hatch after 3 - 10 days and, after several moults, they reach maturity and begin to lay eggs 10 - 12 days later. So the life cycle of the mite takes about fifteen days. Adult mites and eggs can survive for a few days outside the pig and contaminate the piggery. Sarcoptic mange may be more severe in the cooler months. The mite spreads when pigs rub against each other an so a sow can infect their suckling piglets. The burrowing by the mites causes intense itching to the pig which tries to ease the irritation by scratching or rubbing. The mange usually starts near the head, around the eyes and nose. The pig rubs against a post or scratches itself with its hind feet, so the second area of infection is usually the neck and shoulders, then the back and sides and finally the whole body. However, a good pig farmer will treat the pig before it reaches this stage. By constantly rubbing and scratching the itchy areas, the skin becomes hairless and dry. Large grey scabs may form over areas rubbed raw. The early lesions appear as small red patches on the skin. Chronic mange can develop, with rubbing and thickening of the skin and crusts in the ears, it is most commonly seen in boars and sows. Mange causes loss of growth through constant irritation and provides areas for other infection through rubbing raw patches on the skin. Mange is spread by contact with other pigs so it is usually introduced to a piggery by a new pig to the herd. Treat all new pigs in an isolated dry pen for at least two life cycles, i.e. thirty days, while giving spray treatments. The mite can be demonstrated microscopically from deep skin scrapings and crust material from the ear canal of affected live animals. A number of skin scrapings may be needed to find the mange mite. Treatments include spraying pigs with carbaryl or diazinon.
10.3 Respiratory diseases
In tropical areas pneumonia may result from migrating internal parasites or a lung worm infection. The symptoms of pneumonia are coughing with short and sharp breathing. Pneumonia causes reduced growth and lowering of disease resistance, even death. Prevent this disease by providing dry, warm and draught free housing, well-drained yards and good feeding combined with deworming.
10.4 Digestive disorders
Scours occurs in pigs less than 16 weeks of age. If it occurs in older pigs it is usually a sign of a serious disease. In very young piglets scours may be caused by very strong sow's milk which is caused by the sow being fed incorrectly or not being supplied with enough water. If anaemia causes the scours, treat the pigs as for anaemia. Introduce the new feed during a 5 -10 day period because too rapid change of feed at weaning may cause scours. Also, scours can cause sudden death from dehydration, so it requires prompt treatment. Bacterial scours are highly infectious and can cause sudden death of many piglets. When any scours appear, ask for advice from a livestock expert of the Department of Agriculture.
10.5 Infectious diseases
The bacterium Bacillus anthracis cause anthrax. Pigs in poor health and living in cold damp conditions are more likely to become infected than well fed. pigs living in good conditions. The most common symptom is swelling of the throat, hot skin and tiredness. Sometimes pigs die suddenly for no apparent reason and you can see blood stained froth seen around the mouth. Swelling of the neck causes difficult and short breathing. Report any pigs suspected of suffering from anthrax to the nearest Department of Agriculture office. In some countries this reporting is a legal need because it is a very dangerous disease for both humans and animals. In some countries pigs can be vaccinated against anthrax. An experienced livestock officer may treat anthrax with large doses of penicillin.
10.6 Stress and tail-biting
10.6.1 Do not frighten pigs by humans, dogs or other pigs. A frightened pig does not grow as fast or as profitably as a happy pig. When you move pigs from pen to pen, do not hit them or prod them with sticks or boots. Move them quietly and slowly to avoid unnecessary stress. If you handle your stock every day they will know and trust you. In tropical countries heat stress and sunburn is often a problem. Do not leave pigs without shade, water or ventilation. Treat a pig suffering from heat stress with shade, water and a mud wallow. Heat stress often occurs when pigs are being moved in an open truck during the hot part of the day. Wash of pens in the hot part of the day because this supplies some heat relief for the pigs.
10.6.2 Tail biting is common on all intensive piggeries. If tail biting starts, find which pig is doing it before it has done much damage. Remove the tail biter from the pen. Some farmers hang chains from the roof or throw some empty bags or litter on the floor to give pigs something to play and avoid being bored. If tail biting becomes a serious problem, dock the tails of all weaners by cutting the tail off at the second joint from the base. This stub of tail becomes a useful "handle" for moving pigs.
10.6.3 Sometimes a pig is born with something wrong with its body. For instance, some pigs are born with a rupture in the testes sac. This is a disease because it stops the pig growing properly, but it is not an important kind of disease because it does not happen often. All you must remember is that you should never use these pigs for breeding because they will pass on this trouble to the young pigs.
10.7 In some countries there are really only two important kinds of disease:
10.7.1 Diseases are caused by poor feeding Diseases occur because a pig does not get enough minerals like iron, or enough vitamins from green feed. Nevertheless, the commonest disease is caused because pigs are not given enough food of any kind
10.7.2 Diseases are caused by worms inside the pig. The biggest disease problem in pigs is disease caused by 5 kinds of worms.
The worst worms are as follows: 1. kidney worms, 2. stomach worms, 3. small intestine worms. These worms may block the intestine and stop the food moving through the pig. 4. Large intestine worms, 5. Lung worms that make the pig cough.
10.8 Concrete floor or grass
10.8.1 Keep pigs on a concrete floor house if you have the following conditions:
1. The floor slopes so the urine will run down and outside.
2. The floor is kept clean every day.
10.8.2 Keep pigs in an open pen on grass if you have these conditions:
1. You give the pigs worm medicine.
2. The area is big enough so the manure is spread over a large area.
3. The area has not had pigs running over it before.
11.0 Climate
The pigs will not grow fast if they feel too cold or too hot. The worst climate problem is when pigs get too hot. There are two ways of stopping pigs getting too hot:
1. Make sure that the pig always has some shade to stand or lie in.
2. Make the roof of the house out of thatch. Do not use iron that gets very hot in the sun. White pigs are more affected by hot sun than black or brown or red pigs.
12.0 Management - stock identification, watering, feeding, observation, weighing
See diagram 59.12: Ear notches
12.1 Stock Identification
12.1.1 Ear notching involves the removal of pieces of the ear with special pliers in certain positions which relate to a defined numbering system. You can ear notch pigs at any age but if you do it at a young age the pigs are easier to handle. The ear notching pliers cut out a piece of skin and a piece of the ear cartilage out leaving a shape in the ear. The number depends on where this shape is. Anyone can read the number provided the system is commonly used. The system can number up to 1599 then reverts back to number one again by which time the original early numbered pigs would have left the herd. Ear notching is simple, easily understood and not easily removed by pig thieves.
12.1.2 Ear tags come in many forms but all need some form of equipment to place them in the ear of the pig. However if tags are lost the positive means of identification is lost. For pigs with erect ears, place the tag you can read it from the front of the animal, i.e. the number faces out from the inside of the ear. For pigs with floppy ears, put the tag with the number outside the ear so you can read it without lifting the car. Place the tags in the centre of the ear otherwise it may tear out. People who steal pigs can easily remove tags!!
12.1.3 Tattooing in the ear is required by all Australian stud pig as the means of identification for pure-bred pigs. However for commercial producers tattooing is impractical because the equipment is expensive, it is difficult to do properly, and it is not successful for rapid identification as it usually requires cleaning of the ear before the tattoo can be read.
12.2 Watering
1. Pigs must always have clean water to drink. Collect water from a clean stream, but not if other pigs use this stream or cross it. Clean water from a tank is best.
2. Put the water into a trough with a narrow opening at the top so pigs cannot put their feet in the water.
3. The trough should hold about 15 litres of water. This is how much water needed by each pig every day.
4. Fill the water trough every morning.
12.3 Feeding
1. Feed the pigs twice a day.
2. Put the feed into a special trough. It is best if the pigs cannot put their feet into the trough.
3. A weaner pig will eat about 3 kg of food a day. Three kg of boiled sweet potato plus one kg of protein concentrate like fish waste or fishmeal. (d) Mix the food in a special bucket or drum kept for that purpose only. Add a mineral supplement to the feed. (e) Give the pigs freshly cut green feed every day.
12.4 Observing the pigs
1. Observe the pigs every day. Notice whether they look happy and well. Watch them eat and drink. See whether they have shade.
2. Look for any sores on the body, or scratches.
12.5 Weighing the pigs
See diagram 59.12.5: Weighing  young pigs
When the pigs are young, you should weigh them every week and write down their weight. When you receive the pigs they will be about 8 weeks old and will weigh about 15 kg each. After you have kept them for another 8 weeks, they should weigh about 50 kg each. That means they should get about 4 kg heavier each week. If they do not grow as fast as this, it means that there is something wrong with the food you are giving them. Remember that pigs are kept in a house and they cannot help themselves as they can when living wild in the bush.
13.0 Pig Management - when pigs arrive
13.1 Selection of breeding stock
1. The sow should come from a large litter as this increases the chance of her having large litters herself. She must be big and well grown for her age, which shows that she will produce piglets which will grow quickly. Feet and legs need to be strong so she can carry large litters during pregnancy without harmful effects. She should have at least fourteen teats which are evenly spaced with three pairs in front of the nave so she is capable of producing plenty of milk in each "quarter", and that there is enough room for a large litter to feed. She should be in good health and free from disease.
2. The same conditions of selection apply for the boar. It must be both fit and active and have strong legs and feet as he does all of his work standing up. It must have two testicles.
3. Select breeding stock at the age when their progeny will be sold to give the buyer an idea of what the progeny will look like when they are sold. Check the records of the parent pigs to see how they have performed as breeders otherwise you will be disappointed when they do not produce large litters. The sows and boars should not be related. See the litter mates of the pigs being bought to give some idea of the uniformity for body type and growth. Ask a veterinary officer or livestock officer of the Department of Agriculture to inspect the pigs for general health. In the semi-intensive is taught: pigs of different ages and sex are kept in different houses at night and are let out into separate small fenced areas during the day.
13.2 Growth
The main principle for keeping pigs is that they must be kept growing as fast as possible until ready for market. To achieve this they should be:
1. Feed energy food, growth food and healthy food every day, then let out
2. Give clean water every day
3. Keep pigs healthy by using clean troughs and pens, put on clean ground where other pigs have not been for some time, given worm medicine.
13.3 Observations
Observe a mother with suckling piglets? How many piglets can she have? [Up to 10.]
Observe the special pen for mother and piglets. How is it special? [It has sticks across it to stop the mother lying on the piglets.]
13.4 When baby pigs arrive 
1. Measure and record the length from nose to the base of the tail.
2. Weigh and record the weight
3. Fill the water trough and the prepare the food ready for pigs.
4. Make a duty roster so that every day students do the work of watering and feeding the pigs.
5. Study the growth of the pigs each week until the pigs get too heavy to weigh.
13.5 Feeding baby pigs
1. When the pigs are born they should be suckled immediately - one pig to each teat. Help the weakest pigs by putting them on the front teats.
2. Besides mother's milk, piglets need some solid food starting in the first week of feeding. To stop the mother eating this food it must be put in a creep. This is a place where the little piglets can get in but the mother cannot. Put some sugar in the creep feed.
3. The feed should contain:
3.1 Energy food - chopped coconut, sweet potato, bananas, corn, cassava
3.2 Growth food - cooked beans, Leucaena leaves, pig concentrate
3.3 Healthy food - green leaves, they need sunlight.
4. After 8 weeks the piglets must be weaned - taken away from the mother. At first take them away for four hours each day, then all day, then day and night after a week. Take them away so that the other cannot see or hear them. Now they will live like other pigs.
13.6 Visit another pig project
Visit a pig project where there are suckling sows and piglets. The students should have learned a lot about caring for pigs before the visit.
14.0 A post-mortem
Let students see the internal organs. This can be done by killing a pig that you have bought from a villager, or take students to see a village pig being killed for a feast.
1. Remember the parts of the digestive system, the reproductive system and the heart and lungs.
2. to make sure that students remember the five main kinds of worms.
3. Take students to watch the pig being killed. When the pig is opened, collect the digestive organs and lay them out on the grass.
4. Show students the main parts of the digestive system.
5. Open the stomach and the small intestine and look for worms inside.
6. Take out the heart and the lungs.
7. Look for the reproductive organs.
15.0 Make a grazing pen
Mixing pigs
Usually it is better not to mix pigs, but sometimes this is not possible. Mixed pigs they always fight to settle their social standing and to establish the "boss of the pen". The fighting uses energy, upsets other pigs and may cause injury. When you mix small pigs pen them so there is no any room to move around in for several hours, and no room to fight. After some time they all smell the same and they lose the desire to fight. If two adult pigs do not settle down after a few minutes, you must separate them before one is hurt. Keep a record of the pigs which are used to living together before mixing pigs
Provide a clean grass area for the pigs and let them graze there once a week to eat some grass and clean soil. This area must be fenced so other pigs cannot get in. It must also be an area where no other pigs have been walking. The advantage of a grassed pen is that it will show the students that pigs can be kept healthy in a grassed enclosure. Give worm medicine every 12 weeks if you let pigs run in the open.
1. Choose a clean grass area and make a fence around it. Make the fence strong enough to keep out boars that may try to mate with the female pigs.
2. Observe the behaviour of the pigs in the grazing pen.
16.0 Build a farrowing pen
See diagram 59.16.1: Farrowing pen |  See diagram 59.16.2: Farrowing crate and pen
When the sow gives birth to the little pigs, this is called farrowing. Before this happens, you must make a proper place for her and the little pigs. do these things:
1. Use wooden rails to make a small pen for the sow when she is farrowing. This space at one end of the shed should be about 150 cm wide. Look at the picture.
2. The floor of this part of the shed should be covered with boards that touch each other. Then the little pigs will have a flat floor to walk on.
3. put some more rails at one end of the farrowing pen to make a creep. The bottom rail should be about 20 cm above the floor, and it should make a small area 60 cm wide up against one wall of the house. These rails will keep the sow out of this place, but the little pigs can walk under the bottom rail of the creep when they are not feeding. The big danger with a farrowing sow is that she may lie on top of the little pigs and kill them. Having a creep at one end makes a safe place for the little pigs to go.
1. Make a farrowing pen, farrowing rails and a creep.
2. Put boards down on the floor of the farrowing pen
17.0 Mating
See diagram 59.17: Using a pig shield
Sow and Boar Management
1. Until sexual maturity the management of both sows and boars is identical but keep them separate to prevent any unwanted pregnancies. Do not let sows mate too early before their bodies are big enough. A sow is usually big enough to mate when she is 8 - 9 months old, depending on their breeding and rearing. Crossbred sows can mature up to one month earlier than pure-breds.
2. Oestrus in sows occurs every 21 days. Mate sows which have not had a litter on their third oestrus because at this time that the maximum number of ova are being produced by the ovaries. If the sow is mated earlier than the third oestrus she is more likely to produce a smaller litter.
3. For mating you must select a boar. It does not matter if the boar is a village breed. Take the male pigs out of the house before you put the boar in with the sow. They can run in a grassed area while the boar and sow are mating, but they must be given some shade.
4. The sow will not mate with the boar until she is ready. You can tell when the sow is ready for mating because the outside of the vagina will swell up at this time. Also, you can test for readiness by putting hand pressure on the back of the sow over the last few ribs. If the sow stands still it is ready to take the boar.
5. In tropical areas, mate sows in the early morning and late afternoon because mating during the heat of the day can adversely affect the performance of the boar and the quality of his semen. Provide a soft floor of wood shavings, sawdust or sand for the pigs to mate on. Be careful when putting together the pigs to be mated. Use a pig shield when moving pigs because big boars and sows can be dangerous. After the sow has been mated, take the boar back to its pen.
6. Boars generally reach sexual maturity earlier than sows. A boar can be capable of mating at six months of age, but let them grow to eight months before beginning mating duties. Early mating may cause accidents that affect the working life of the boar. Make the first mating with older experienced sows who will not attack the inexperienced boar. Do not allow mating more than once every ten days for the first month. Periods of rest are needed to keep the boar in good mating condition. Prevent the boar from getting too heavy as it grows older.
7. You can mate sows twice within a twelve hour period so that each ovum has the best possible chance of becoming fertilized. Hand mate the sows rather than just putting them in a field with a boar and not knowing when sows were expected to farrow. Put the sow in a pen with the boar when the sow is ready and willing to take the boar. Stay and watch the mating and help a young and inexperienced boar by holding the sheath to guide the penis into the vagina. When the mating is completed return the sow to its pen. The boar needs rest especially if it is to be used again within twelve hours on the same sow.
8. Calculate the approximate farrowing date by adding 114 days (three months, three weeks and three days) to the date of mating. Check the sow after 21 days to see whether she has come into oestrus again, indicating that the mating was unsuccessful.
17.1 Culling
The culling is the removal of breeders from the herd for any reason except death. Animals are culled because of disease, age, infertility, temperament and injury. You may give unproductive gilts a second chance if they have an unsuccessful first pregnancy. Always cull the following: gilts not pregnant by 12 months of age; boars unwilling to mate or boars unable to mate; sows which do not average six weaned each litter after the first litter; sows not pregnant within three months of weaning; sows after six litters; boars every two years to prevent in-breeding. Cull one third of the herd each year.
18.0 Farrowing
1. Farrowing management
Give the sow worming powder one month before the expected date of farrowing. One week before farrowing spray the sow for lice and give a thorough wash and scrub before moving it to the farrowing pen. Some farmers do not put the sow into the farrowing pen until she is almost ready to farrow but others put the sow in the farrowing pen a week before farrowing to allow it to get used to the new surroundings. The pen must be warm and dry with plenty of fresh clean water and an adequate supply of good quality food. Just before farrowing give the sow some worm medicine. This will kill any worms she may have, so there will not be any worm eggs when the little pigs are born. Students should watch the sow farrowing without disturbing the sow. They should watch for overlying of the new born piglets by the mother and see the value of having a creep to protect the piglets. About 24 hours before farrowing, the udder will start producing colostrum. It can be seen by gently massaging the teats and is a good sign that the sow is ready to farrow. Another sign is that the sow will become restless and will nose about the pen trying to make a bedding nest. Keep watching the sow without upsetting it. Farrowing take 2 - 18 hours. If piglets are born with mucus in their mouths which hampers breathing remove it with your fingers. Also watch for membranes over the nose and mouth.
2. Farrowing operations to be done in the first day of life of the piglets.
2.1 Treatment of the umbilical cord
When the piglet is born it usually has up to 30 cm of umbilical cord trailing from its navel. With time the cord dries and falls off but until this happens it is dragged through bedding, faeces and urine, and the farmer or other pigs may tread on it. Piglets may suffering from navel infection as a result of the excess length of umbilical cord. To avoid infection of the navel, tie a piece of cotton thread tightly around the umbilical cord 2 cm from the body. Cut the cord with a knife or pair of scissors a further 2 cm from the cotton. Dip the 4 cm of cord left attached to the body in an iodine solution to sterilize it. Keep the iodine in a wide mouth jar so the umbilical cord can be dipped into it. (ii) Cutting the eye teeth. Piglets are born with eight, very sharp eye teeth (milk teeth) which can cause irritation and serious damage to the teats of the sow. Piglets can get infected mouths from these teeth cutting the insides of the cheeks. You need a pair of electrician's side cutter pliers. Lay the pliers on the gum of the piglet and cut off the teeth at gum level. Do not cut the gums, tongue or other parts of the mouth and do not pull out the teeth from the gum.
2.2 Iron Supplementation
Piglets are born with enough iron in their bodies for five days after which they suffer an iron deficiency so the piglet may become tired and pale. Piglets do not usually start eating solid foods until they are 10 - 14 days of age so they should get some form of iron supplement because sow's milk may be very low in iron. You can give iron supplements to the piglets in the following ways: (a) The simplest and most common means of providing iron is to place a shovelful of clean red earth in the pen each day until the piglets start eating solid foods. By nosing through the dirt the piglets pick up enough iron to meet their body needs. The soil should be from an area known to have been free from grazing pigs as there is a chance that internal parasite eggs could be in the soil. (b) You can place iron pastes on the tongue of the piglets tongue several times. The piglet swallows the paste to get the iron. However the piglet may spit out the paste out and still suffer an iron deficiency. (c) You can use a syringe and short needle to inject iron 2 mL of iron solution into either the hind leg or neck of the pig at two days of age. However, abscesses may occur at the injection site and inexperienced operators can injure a piglet. Hygiene is important when using injections. (d) You can give the piglets an oral form of iron within the first 18 hours of life by placing a length of plastic in the piglet's mouth and pressing a plunger fitted to the bottle holding the iron solution. This is a very safe and no special equipment or skill.
19.0 Weaning
This is one of the most important parts of the project because it teaches the students new ways of raising pigs. Weaning means taking the little pigs away from the mother and making them eat food. In the villages the people do not do this; they leave the little pigs with the mother for a long time. However, the modern way is to take the little pigs away from the mother when they are eight weeks old. These are the good things about weaning:
1. You can sell the weaner pigs if you want to. This will make some money for buying more food.
2. Four days after weaning the sow will come into heat. That means she will want to mate with a boar. This means you can start the sow having some more little pigs. If the boar is ready and mate the sow 4 days after weaning. The sow can have two litters of pigs every year.
3. After the little pigs are taken away, the sow does not have to make milk and she does not need as much food for a while. To wean the little pigs they must be taken right away from the mother. It will be best if you can make another slatted floor house for the little pigs. Build it next to the first house, but make a door so that pigs can be moved from one house to the other. Until the second house is built, you can separate the sow from the weaners by making a strong partition in the house. The boards on the sow's side must be taken up so that she is on a slatted floor again.
4. Divide the house into two or  build another house.
5. Separate the weaners from the sow.
20.0 Castration
20.1 If you have not done this operation before ask a livestock officer or an experiences farmer to you how to do it. Do this operation while the piglet is still suckling the sow because the operation will affect the growth of the piglet. Young pigs are easier to castrate because as they are easier to handle and hold. Castrate male pigs because the boar meat has a peculiar taint or odour once the boar reaches sexual maturity and because it lowers the urge to fight in a group of male pigs. However, entire boars grow faster than either castrates (barrows) or females. Castration itself is a simple operation requiring cleanliness and hygiene.
Remember the following several points:
1. Thoroughly clean the operation area with antiseptic.
2. Firmly hold the pig to avoid accidental injury to either the pig or the operator.
3. Use only sharp knives and make bold and decisive cuts. The quicker the operation is over the better.
4. Make the cut well down on the scrotum to allow for good drainage of the wound which will in turn lead to faster healing.
4. Do not cut the red cord attached to the testes as it is a blood vessel - scrape it until it severs.
5. Apply a coat of antiseptic smear to the wound after the operation to prevent screw worm strike.
6. Do not stitch the wound.
20.2 Some weaner pigs will be males and some females. Castrate all the males that you do not want for breeding. If there is one good male weaner, you may want to keep him for breeding, but all the others must be castrated. In doing this you must have students hold the pig firmly. The skin over the testes should be washed clean with an antiseptic, e.g. Dettol. Then use a clean sharp knife to cut the skin of the scrotum and pull the testes out one at a time. Cut the cord with a scraping action. Ask a livestock officer to show you how to do this. After removing the testes, swab the wound with antiseptic solution.
1. Students should watch castration
2. The reason for castration is to make the pigs safer to handle and to stop pigs mating when you do not want this to happen.
22.0 Visit to a piggery
If there is a commercial piggery near the school, it is a very good idea to take the students to visit it. Before you go you must talk to the students and explain where they are to go. Ask the students:
What kind of protein food is used?
How much does it cost?
How many breeding sows are kept?
What breed are they?
When are the pigs sold?
When you visit the piggery, keep the students in a group so they can see each section. Ask someone to talk about each part that you visit.
23.0 Keeping a diary
Train the students to run a piggery as a business. Keep records. One important record is a diary that is a daily record of everything you do with the pigs. If you keep a diary:
1. Next year you can look at the diary and see when you ordered the worm medicine, the fishmeal and other things for the pigs. It helps you to plan your work. 2. The diary will tell you exactly how long it took for the sow to give birth to the piglets, how long it took for the sweet potato to grow and so on.
3. The diary gives you a record of when you paid money to buy things. Keeping a diary is easy. All you need is one column for the date, and a big space for writing down what you have done. Look at the picture.
24.0 Keeping records
See also 6.9.20.0: Understanding the records
Records
A simple recording system should show sow number, boar number, date of farrowing, number born alive, number born dead, number weaned and weight at weaning, who the pig is sold to and the selling price. Records can also show which sow or boar is not producing enough piglets, which sow is producing the most profitable piglets and different types of management used.
Besides the diary, students should keep two other kinds of records:
1. Record of costs: There are two kinds of costs: Costs of things like a sharp knife, the female pig and fencing wire are called establishment costs, because they are bought to get the piggery started or established. However, these things last a long time. You do not have to buy them again next year. You will not have to buy another sow next year. Costs of things like worm medicine and fishmeal are called production costs because you must pay these costs every year if you want to produce more pigs. A record of costs should be made in columns as you see in the diagram. Students should have practice in deciding which costs are production costs and which costs are establishment costs.
2. Record of returns: Every time some pigs are sold, this should be written down in the record of returns. This is an easy record to keep; you only need 3 columns - date - what was sold - how much money was received, as you see in the diagram.
Costs
1. Explain difference between production and establishment costs.
2. Practice putting costs in the right column.
3. Design a table for recording costs.
4. Enter costs of this project.
5. Add the total costs for the year.
6. Make a record of returns.
7. Enter values of returns received .
Costing Sheet
Students must be shown how to make a costing sheet to see whether they have made a profit from the pigs or not. This is easy to do because all you have to do is subtract the costs from the returns. However, it is not good to subtract all the establishment costs, because these things you have bought will last some years. For instance the sow should live for five years. So total all the establishment costs and divide the total by the number of years you think these things will last, say five years. Then you add this smaller figure to the production costs and this gives you a total cost for the year. Then you take this total cost from the returns and this gives the profit for the year.
Make a table as follows:
Costing sheets for pigs
Year 2004
1. Returns (money received from selling pigs) . . . pigs sold . . . $ . . .
2. Less costs
(a) Production costs (money spent on food, medicines etc. to make the pigs grow) $  . . .
(b) Establishment costs (money spent on starting the pig project) Total establishment
Expected life costs of equipment $ . . . /5 years = $ . . .
Total costs $ . . .
Net profit for the year . . . $ . . .
3. The whole purpose of growing pigs the modern way is to make a profit. 4. Calculate the profit. (5) Explain why you divide the establishment costs by 5 before you add it to production costs. (6) Then show how to make a costing sheet. (7) Help students to make a costing sheet for your pig project. (8) If you have not made a profit so far explain to students that you expect to have a bigger profit when the sow has her pigs.
History
These teaching materials were originally written and illustrated by Mr J. A. Sutherland, Faculty of Education, University of New England, Armidale, Australia and later edited by Dr J. Elfick, School of Education, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Some of the technical notes are based on "Pigs and Poultry in the South Pacific" by Ian Watt and Frank Michell, Sorrett Publishing.