All about Pigs & Pig-Keeping - 800 Questions and Answers

1    Breeding

BERKSHIRE BREED

Breeding and Fattening

I want to keep a breed for either pork or bacon production; I am not interested in selling weaners. I wish to graze the breeding stock as much as possible. Would you suggest I keep Berkshires?

As you wish to breed and finish pigs for pork or bacon, I do not think it advisable to go in for Berkshires. If your policy was to be pork only, then there might be some advantage in choosing this breed. As you probably realize, under the present price structure the most profit is made on the grade A pig which weighs as near 8 sc. 10 lb. as possible.

Another point: Berkshires are not over-prolific. There are good strains, of course, but the breed as a whole is of low average. When crossed with a Tamworth a very suitable bacon carcass can be obtained, but little is known of the conversion rate.

I think it would be safer (until you are established) to keep the popular Large White or Wessex. But whichever you finally choose, make a point of buying only those animals from parents whose records show they are worthy to keep for breeding purposes. Records of immediate ancestors are extremely important, otherwise it is truly ‘buying a pig in a poke’.

BREEDING FOR BACON

For Grade A Carcasses

I am going in for bacon production and wonder what type and breed of sow to keep.

There are good and bad strains in every breed. The essential points in a sow are docility and ability to breed and rear first-grade bacon. According to the N.P.B.A., the Wessex Saddleback rears the largest litters and, in my opinion, the Wessex sow mated to a Large White or Welsh boar produces grade A bacon.

White Boar on Coloured Sows

Do you advise using a Large White boar on Wessex, Essex or Large Black sows?

You can gain many advantages by crossing with a Large White boar. The cross-bred pigs are excellent for bacon provided that the parents were good in that respect. Seedy cut is very rarely found in these crosses.

Number of Sows to Keep

How many breeding sows would I have to keep to turn out 500 to 600 bacon pigs per year? And how many boars for this number of sows?

A safe estimate is to reckon on selling 12 bacon pigs per sow per year. Allowing for replacements to the breeding herd, 50 sows would then be needed for 600 baconers. Two boars would be required.

Coloured Boar and White Sows

Why is the use of a coloured boar on a white pig not recommended? I have just had a good litter of Wessex purebreds, and would like to use one of the boars on my Large White sows.

The object of crossing two different breeds is to have in the progeny the best qualities of both the parents. Good-quality bacon is the ultimate end, but economic production is also a vital factor. Black pigs are noted for their ability to rear large litters economically, whereas the white pig is the recognized bacon producer. Therefore the black female and white males are used. If the process is reversed you immediately lose the advantages of economically-reared large litters, and the bacon factories’ fancy for the white bacon carcass is also liable to be lost.

Spotty Pigs

I have a pure-bred Large White boar which I have been putting on my Essex and Wessex sows. I am getting black and white spotty pigs. My neighbour says that his all come as pure white or with touches of blue, but not black. Can it be the fault of the boar?

Normally the mating of a pure-bred Large White boar with Wessex or Large Black sows results in white pigs with blue markings. That in your case this has not happened merely proves that in the past breeding of either the sows or the boar there is some factor at work which is not usually present.

If the particular boar you are using invariably sires pigs with black markings when mated to ordinary Wessex and Large Black sows, I think it would be safe to infer that at some point in his ancestry, there has occurred an impure white mating.

The simplest way to satisfy yourself about this is to borrow another white boar for use on a few of the sows which have already produced black and white or black-spotted pigs. It would only be in the unlikely event of these matings also resulting in black and white pigs that you could blame the sows in question.

BREEDING FROM GILTS

When to Cull

As soon as the litters of three gilts were weaned I put the gilts in with the boar. Is this correct, or is it better to wait until they come on heat?

These gilts farrowed 8 pigs, 5 pigs (plus 2 dead), and 4 pigs.

Would you advise rearing any of the best gilts for breeding? Also, would you advise breeding off the gilts that farrowed 5 and 4 pigs a second time?

It would not be advisable to keep gilts for breeding from these litters. It is best to let a sow have at least three litters before you decide to keep gilts from her. If your three gilts do not give you eight pigs weaned with their second litters, do not keep them for the third litter.

Infantile Teats

I have a 7-month-old gilt that I hoped to keep for breeding but I noticed her teats are very flat. They protrude only about one-eighth of an inch but appear to have orifices. Would it be advisable to breed from her?

This gilt should be reaching puberty by now, and if the teats are not distinct but flattened, then it is doubtful whether they will be satisfactory for suckling.

We suggest that you might give her massage now and then, rubbing with a mixture of one teaspoonful of turpentine to a pint of bland oil to act as a mild stimulant.

If there is no improvement in a month, get rid of the gilt.

Cross-bred or Pure-bred?

Is a cross-bred pig as good a breeder as a pure-bred animal? I have a Saddleback/Large White gilt which I should like to keep for breeding purposes.

The chances of this cross-bred gilt proving a good breeder are as good as for a pure-bred animal. Many pig-keepers have cross-bred sows; commercially there is nothing wrong with the practice, though the colour-markings of the litter tend to vary. I suggest you mate her back to a Large White boar.

Stagger Farrowings

I have four 7-month-old Wessex gilts which I want to breed from, but I want to stagger my farrowings. I am told that if I don’t mate them on the first heat they will never be much good. Is there any scientific basis for this idea?

You may find that delay in mating for several months will result in a little difficulty in getting the gilts in-pig, but there can be no harm in attempting this.

Give them a few tablespoonfuls of cod-liver oil at intervals after weaning and build up with a good-quality steaming-up ration containing white fish meal towards the date you propose to mate them.

Feeding Them on Pasture

I bought two non-pedigree Large White gilts at ten weeks old and was told not to give them much meal but plenty of swill. I can now see my mistake, for at twenty-one weeks old they weigh only some five score. They have good length but will they be all right to breed from?

Yes, providing you get them out on to pasture as soon as possible. They should then get 5 lb. per day of sow-and-weaner nuts, reducing to between 3 to 4 lb. in May or June, when grass is plentiful. Start to increase to 5 lb., and finally to 6 lb., during the last half of the gestation period.

If these gilts give you good litters I should keep them again, and if at the second and third litters they continue to do well, then keep some gilts from them for further breeding.

Don’t be in a hurry to buy pedigree just for pedigree’s sake. As far as performance is concerned, it often does not mean very much.

Selecting from Litter

I am fattening a litter of ten but would like to keep one of them for breeding. The litter is by a very good boar and the dam has reared good, strong litters consistently. The problem is to pick the gilt. I have two animals in mind—one is small with uniformly developed teats; the other is well grown but has three teats under-developed. Which should I breed from?

It would be advisable to keep the largest of the gilts for breeding. So long as there are twelve teats that function correctly, that is all that is required.

Study Family Records

I have a young gilt and I should like to keep some of her gilts for breeding. Do you think this wise?

Don’t breed from gilts out of a gilt unless you know the average family performance on both sides of the young gilt’s pedigree. If their dam rears a really good first litter, and if their litter-mates fatten and grade uniformly well, then keep them. On the other hand, you are unlikely to know this amount of detail concerning purchased gilts, and I would not advise you to follow the practice with them.

BREEDING REPLACEMENTS

Six Gilts a Year

Please suggest number and age groups of followers to be carried for a herd of 20 breeding sows.

Providing reasonable luck was obtained, six gilts a year should keep a herd of 20 sows going. One would obviously not lose any money by rearing the seventh gilt to be on the safe side, as this could be sold in-pig or with a litter at foot.

The age of these replacements should be 12 months at farrowing, preferably spring-farrowed, as they usually make better grown gilts than autumn-farrowed ones.

FARROWING

Farrowing a Gilt

Is there any difference in farrowing a gilt as against a sow?

There is very little difference in farrowing a gilt. The main point is temperament; a gilt is inclined to be nervous and restless at farrowing. More care is needed to avoid trampling or crushing of the piglets.

Using Farrowing Crate

Is there any danger which will be encountered when using a farrowing crate?

The main danger in using a farrowing crate is that the sow, especially if farrowing her first litter, has not been sufficiently accustomed to the crate before she is shut up in it and, consequently, is badly upset at farrowing time. Let her get used to it by putting her in several times in the week before farrowing.

She will, of course, be let out for feeding twice daily. Give her the opportunity to dung and urinate and, if possible, take a little exercise before returning to the crate. Some people use a crate for the first 36 to 40 hours, others for several days. Don’t continue to use it after the fifth day.

Nested Crate

My farrowing crate has boxes on either side for the young pigs. Do you consider it wise to use these?

Boxes on either side of the crate prevent the little pigs from wandering away and getting chilled. They form warm nests for them, especially if an infra-red lamp is fitted to the lid of each box in the winter.

When She Starts to Pig

What attention will my sow need when she starts to pig? Do I take the young pigs away from her, and how should I erect farrowing rails in the sty?

When farrowing commences just let things take their natural course and only consider removing the piglets as they are born if the gilt is very restless and likely to crush them. There is little chance of the gilt turning against her litter. Farrowing rails are of very doubtful value and do not save many pigs, but if you wish to install them, place them 9 inches out from the wall and 9 inches up from the floor. A piece of one-inch water-pipe with an elbow on it, cemented in the wall one foot high and at intervals of three feet, is quite effective. A horizontal bar in this case is unnecessary.

FIRST-CROSS GILTS

Mating Back to Sire

I have an outstanding litter of home-bred first-cross pigs which are showing tremendous length. If I kept some of this litter for breeding would it be sound to put them to my only boar, a pure Large White who sired them?

You could mate your first-cross gilts back to their sire, but you must expect some loss of vigour in the litters produced, probably not appreciable in the first generation. You may have various abnormalities occurring in the pigs produced, such as blind gut, hernia, mis-shapened pigs. It just depends on the genetic make-up of the boar, but if you consider he is sufficiently outstanding in certain commercial characters to warrant the risk—well, you can but see.

GRAZING BREEDS

Wessex, Essex and Large Blacks

Which breed of pig is considered to be the best grazer? And how high on the list would the Large White and the Welsh White pig be?

The coloured breeds—Wessex, Essex and Large Black—are undoubtedly the best grazers. As a general rule, all the breeds with lop ears (this includes the Welsh) are good grazing animals. The Large White is not considered to be so good in this respect.

However, as with other characteristics, the strains within the breed vary. One can obtain good grazing strains of Large Whites, although the best would not be superior to the Welsh or the coloured breeds. The latter have the advantage of a black coat, which affords protection against the sun. They continue grazing in very hot weather when the white breeds must seek shade.

KEEPING A BOAR

When Profitable

How many sows must be kept to justify the keeping of a boar. I pay, on average, £1 10s. for service; this includes petrol for taking and fetching, service fee, and board and keep for sow while with boar for three to four days.

It costs approximately £26 in food and housing, etc., to keep a boar for one year. Disregarding the initial cost and possible depreciation, this means that below eight sows it would not be profitable to keep a boar. On the other hand, convenience may make it a proposition for as low as six sows.

LARGE WHITE BREED

Founding a Herd

I have been fattening pigs on a small scale, purchasing them at eight weeks old. I now intend to breed my own. What is the most suitable breed to keep? My preference is for the Large White, but some breeders tell me that the sows are inclined to be temperamental and bad mothers.

Certain individuals and strains of the Large White breed are temperamental and rather poor mothers, but this holds true for other breeds—including the coloured breeds. I would recommend you to choose a gilt of the Large White type, as this is the breed you prefer. In addition, carcass quality is now so important in determining profit, that this consideration outweighs any shortcomings of the breed. Judged by the results of carcass competitions, Large Whites are outstanding compared with coloured breeds.

Temperament is much influenced by handling. Try to buy a daughter from an oldish sow which has consistently reared large and heavy litters and from a strain which is docile and easily managed.

LARGE WHITE/ESSEX CROSS

Breeding from First Cross

I am crossing pure-bred Essex sows with a Large White boar with very satisfactory results. Could satisfactory results be expected if some of the first-cross gilts were served by another young Large White boar?

The first-cross Large White/Essex gilt should prove satisfactory. The only possible exception is that their litters may show more variation than the first-cross litters, but if you use a boar of good bacon type, I think you will be pleased with the grading results.

Grading-up Policy

I propose to increase my pig numbers to thirty with the limited capital I have available. My Essex pigs are very prolific but lack length, and I have been advised to sell them and obtain another breed. My last litters are Large White/Essex cross; would you advise me to retain any gilts for breeding? I could then possibly gradually move into a pure white breed by crossing, or would you advise using a Welsh boar to obtain high-quality bacon carcasses? I keep my breeding stock outside.

The best advice I can give is for you to retain the prolific family of Essex pigs as long as you can, and continue to use the Large White boar for commercial production. You should see that the boar used is as long as possible to compensate for lack of length in the sows.

You could retain the first-cross gilts for breeding, as these will serve the purpose well. Usually the first-cross sow is prolific, a good milker and has length. Pigs of the second cross, by a Large White boar, grade well, but some of the vigour present in the first cross seems to be lost.

I have seen herds graded up to white pigs by using successive Large White boars on an original coloured pig foundation, and in my experience some of the good qualities of the coloured breeds do undoubtedly persist. For example, mothering ability, milking qualities and litter size—obviously present in your Essex strain—would probably be maintained. Bacon conformation and grading would be improved.

In your case I would advise a grading-up policy, but see that the Large White boars used in successive generations were totally unrelated. Pigs are particularly susceptible to the ill effects of inbreeding—fertility and vigour being reduced. A boar should never be used on his own daughters where commercial breeding is practised.

LARGE WHITE/WESSEX CROSS

Produces Good Baconers

I intend to keep eight sows and to fatten their litters. Will Wessex Saddleback sows mated with a Large White boar produce top-quality baconers?

Such a cross will produce good bacon pigs provided that the sows are of a good length. There are many different strains of Wessex, and it is important to get one of good conformation. Also, of course, a good Large White boar is necessary.

LARGE WHITE/G.O.S. CROSS

Selecting from Bacon Pens

I have a very good gilt in a litter of Large White/Gloucester pigs. I wish to breed from her; at present she is being fattened with the rest of the litter. If I take her out and run her on the pasture, should she do well? To fit in with my accommodation she will have to be served at ten months and will have to run on the pasture during the early winter.

I think it will be quite a sound proposition to breed from your Large White/Gloucester gilt. It will make no difference her being in the bacon pen for the fattening period; I always select my gilts for breeding from the bacon pens at about 180 lb. live-weight. If they are of the right length and sound on their feet at this time, it is a more severe test than if they had been on pasture from weaning. She will have plenty of time on pasture to get rid of surplus fat, and be in a good breeding condition. Provided that she is out of the right sow, there is no reason that, with proper management, she should not have a very good first litter.

LINE BREEDING

Use of Records

I have purchased two pedigree maiden sows and a pedigree boar with a view to line-breeding stock. What is the most suitable, economical and practical method of stock recording?

It is not correct to assume that because you have purchased pedigree gilts and are using a pedigree boar the results obtained (weaning weights, conversion figure and carcass quality) will be in any way superior to those from non-pedigree stock.

You will not be able to follow the line-breeding policy yet; to do this constructively you need a greater number of pigs. However, I agree that records are necessary in order to find out which sows are suitable for keeping gilts from for further breeding.

To find the true value of a sow, she should have had at least four litters, and three of these should be recorded right through, including the grading returns of her progeny.

SECOND-CROSS GILTS

Use Non-related Boar

I have a friend who keeps pedigree Essex sows and a pedigree Large White boar. I have purchased a litter of nine second-cross pigs from him. Could I select gilts from this litter for breeding?

There is no reason why you should not breed from them. Provided that they were from a sow who gave good litters and by a boar of the right conformation, you will get good bacon pigs. You should use a non-related Large White boar (of a good length and fine qualities) to give grade A progeny.

SERVICE PROBLEMS

Boar Ignores Sow

My boar has taken a sudden dislike to one particular sow. He will have nothing to do with her. What can I do?

Try running the boar in with the sow in a small paddock and provide only one feeding-trough. Smear the rear parts of the sow with the urine of another; if there is another sow in season at the same time, then use her urine. The boar could be given an injection of PMS hormone just before being turned in with the sow.

Recognizing Heat Period

I wish to know what age is considered best for serving a gilt. Also, can you tell me how to recognize the heat period?

If your gilts are well grown they can be served at 9 to 10 months old. It is not always easy to recognize the early-heat periods. The animal is sleepy and will lie about on her own. With other pigs she may be noisy and restless, often mounting them and standing to be mounted. There is frequently a thick, transparent mucous discharge from the vulva, sometimes bloodstained. It does not, however, always do to rely on seeing a swelling or redness of the vulva. This may or may not occur, and in any case it is difficult to detect in black pigs.

Avoid After-farrowing Service

If a sow should show signs of oestrum forty-eight hours after farrowing, should she be served and will such a service affect her milk supply?

A sow should not be served forty-eight hours after farrowing for two reasons: (1) it will most certainly affect the milk supply and (2) she is very likely to have a small litter as the result of this serving.

Delaying Service

I have four sows due to farrow shortly, but if I serve them on the first heat after farrowing I shall not have room to house the second litters. I would, therefore, like to miss the first heat and serve them on the second. Will this cause smaller litters or difficulty in getting the sows in-pig?

To postpone service till the second-heat period after farrowing should have no detrimental effect. The number in the litter depends to some extent upon the boar, more particularly on the way you use him. He should be allowed to serve the sow at least twice—once when she first comes on heat and will accept him and again from 12 to 30 hours later. Maximum-size litters will be secured in this way.

If overcrowding is a problem, you could wean some litters a week early and others a week late—or wean early and then serve at the second heat as suggested.

How Many Services?

How many services should a boar give a week?

Two services per week is about normal, but if the boar is young and vigorous four a week would not be too many. If you intend to use him heavily, he should receive extra food—up to 8 lb. per day.

Failure to Conceive

I have a young 18-month-old sow. She had a litter of seven, and although she has been served four times since, I cannot get her in-pig. Is it possible for a sow to become barren after a litter?

Failure to conceive is not common in sows after one litter. Veterinary treatment of sterility in pigs is seldom satisfactory; if she were mine, I should fatten her off.

Service Fee

What is a fair service fee for my pedigree Welsh boar, and how much should I charge for board and keep of gilts and sows? How much should I charge per mile for collecting sows for service in my car and trailer?

A fair service fee for your boar would be £1 per service; this would include two days’ keep. If you collect the sows, I would charge an extra 10s., and for every day over the two days you have to keep them a further 2s. 6d.

SOW’S BREEDING LIFE

Six Litters

Could you tell me the average life in a herd of breeding sow?

I think this is approximately six litters, although in some cases sows will have eight to ten litters before they begin to deteriorate.

Deterioration shows itself in various ways, the usual one being that the milk supply is not as good as with earlier litters, and instead of getting a 40-lb. weaning weight you get a 35-lb. one.

The other forms of deterioration are that the sows gets heavy and clumsy, resulting in increased mortality amongst the piglets. There is also some evidence to show that the vitality of the pigs at birth is less from a very old sow.

STARTING A HERD

Building Up from Sow

I plan to start a pedigree Wessex herd by building up from a good pedigree foundation sow. What is your opinion?

Your plan would be quite sound if you could be sure of the all-round quality of the sow. I would choose a sow which has had two good litters already and from a family with a high reputation for prolificacy, mothering ability and docility.

The more normal method of building up a herd is to buy a number of in-pig gilts; and, indeed, you may find it impossible to get an older sow of satisfactory performance. If this is the case, I suggest you buy four pedigree Wessex in-pig gilts; this would give you more scope for future selection.

It is not necessary to pay high prices for pedigree gilts capable of good commercial performances, especially if you are prepared to buy mismarked ones—a character which will not be important unless you intend to sell breeding stock.

Keeping Sows on Two Acres

I plan to make a whole-time business of breeding. I have two acres of neglected orchard in which an ample water supply is available. I intend to start with two or three in-pig gilts. As there is not enough land to allow the pigs out for the greater part of the time, I should have to use the sty-and-run principle (permanent housing for sows, transferring the weaners to larger houses). Would breeding sows thrive well under these conditions?

The policy that you have in mind can most certainly be made to work, providing one realizes that the standard of management required is much higher than with the extensive system where sows farrow out of doors in wooden arks on clean land every year.

The points that will need careful watching are the building up of parasitic and bacterial diseases which can so seriously interfere with the efficiency of pigs and the ultimate profits made. The main difficulty will be with the in-pig sows. It is most important these animals have sufficient exercise during the gestation period to enable them to produce large, healthy and vigorous litters.

Perhaps it would be possible to divide your land up into three areas, using one-third and resting the other two-thirds each year, so that the pigs always have a fresh piece. During the resting period the land should be thoroughly harrowed and, if necessary, grass seed sown to get some turf back again.

It should be possible to farrow the sows in more confined quarters. After weaning, the piglets do not need to run on pasture; they are better kept in houses with an outdoor run attached.

TAMWORTH CROSS

Use Good Growing Strain

What is your opinion on the Tamworth cross? I know that such pigs are slow growers, yet the carcass seems to be what is nowadays wanted—long and lean. Admittedly, when mated to a Wessex most of the piglets are black and white and only a few sandy. But what about the Tamworth/Large White cross?

The Large White boar and Tamworth sow can be a very good proposition provided that the sow is from a Tamworth strain known to have a good growth rate and conversion figure. There is, unfortunately, as much or more difference between strains within breeds than between breeds themselves.

I do not think you will gain much by putting a Tamworth boar on a Large White sow.

WELSH/LARGE WHITE CROSS

Increasing the Length

My strain of Large Whites is prolific and fast-growing but is not as long as I would like; only about 60 per cent make grade A. Please advise if it is policy to use a young Welsh boar on the gilts?

In order to increase the length of your Large White pigs, it is necessary to introduce a boar who can be reasonably assured