G4: Swine Breeding Farm by Jean K

Group Members:

jaysonshum710 — 2021-06-28 03:00:18 UTC

🐷Shum Sheng Jie
🐷Tan Jia Hao
🐷Tiong Wei Ping
🐷Wiiliam Tong Meng Yang
🐷Yik Hoe Yin

Production stage of swine

hoeyik1477 — 2021-07-19 16:50:48 UTC

Source: (Rasmussen, 2017)

hoeyik1477 — 2021-07-20 10:54:14 UTC

In swine farming industry, there are few common production stages will be conducted in the farm which are breeding followed by gestation, farrowing, weaning, and growing and finishing (Rasmussen, 2017).

References

hoeyik1477 — 2021-07-20 11:03:01 UTC

Aneas, S.B., Gary, B.G. and Bouvier, B.P., 2008. Collectis® automated boar collection technology. Theriogenology, 70(8), pp.1368-1373.

B.C., Pork, 2020. Small lot pork producer. Management & Production, [online] Available at: [Accessed 29 July 2021].

Broom, D.M., 1991. Animal welfare: concepts and measurement. Journal of Animal Science, [e-journal] 69(10), pp.4167-4175. https://dx.doi.org/10.2527/1991.69104167x.

Broom, D.M., 2016. Sentience and animal welfare: new thoughts and controversies. Animal Sentience, [e-journal] 5(11), pp.1-8. https://dx.doi.org/10.51291/2377-7478.1024.

Caliebe, A., Nebel, A., Makarewicz, C., Krawczak, M. and Krause-Kyora, B., 2017. Insight into early pig domestication provided by ancient DNA analysis. Scientific Reports, 7.

Carenzi, C. and Verga, M., 2009. Animal welfare: review of the scientific concept and definition. Italian Journal of Animal Science, [e-journal] 8(1), pp.21-30. https://dx.doi.org/10.4081/ijas.2009.s1.21.

Certified Pedigreed Swine, 2014. Chester white. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Compassion, 2013. The life of - Pigs. [online] Available at: [Accessed 29 July 2021].

Compassion in World Farming, 2021a. Welfare Issues for Pigs. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Compassion in World Farming, 2021b. Pig Welfare. [online] Available at: < https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/pigs/pig-welfare/> [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Elischer, M., 2019. The Five Freedoms: A History Lesson in Animal Care and Welfare. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Evin, A., Dobney,K. and Cucchu, T., 2017. A history of pig domestication: New ways of exploring a complex process. In: M. Melletti, and E. Meijaard, eds. 2017. Ecology, Conservation and Management of Wild Pigs and Peccaries: Cambridge University Press, pp. 39–48.

FAO, 2009. Farmer's Hand Book on Pig Production. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

FAO, 2011. Pigs for Prosperity. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Farmer, C., 2021. A simple tool to increase the amount of colostrum available to newborn piglets. Management, [online] Available at: [Accessed 29 July 2021].

Food Print, 2021. Farm Animal Welfare. [online] Available at: [Accessed 2 August 2021].

Gadea, J., Coy, P., Matás, C., Romar, R. and Cánovas, S., 2020. Reproductive technologies in swine. In Reproductive Technologies in Animals, pp. 67-79.

Geisert, R.D. and Lucy, M.C., 2018. Pig. Encyclopedia of Reproduction, 2, pp. 641–649.

Global Ag Media, 2021a. Pig Breeds: Different Breeds of Swine. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021]

Global Ag Media, 2021b. Spotted. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021]

Giuffra, E., Kijas, J.M.H., Amarger, V., Carlborg, O., Jeon, J.T. and Andersson, L., 2000. The origin of the domestic pig: independent domestication and subsequent introgression. Genetics, 154(4), pp. 1785-1791.

Granger, A., 2020. Animal Welfare and Ethical Responsibility in Farming. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Irfan, T., 2013. General reproductive properties in pigs. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 37, pp. 1-5.

Lawrence, A.B., Newberry, R.C. and Špinka, M., 2017. Positive welfare: what does it add to the debate over pig welfare? In: M. Špinka, ed. 2017. Advances in Pig Welfare. New York: Woodhead Publishing. pp.415-444.

Li, J., Rieke, A., Day, B.N. and Prather, R.S., 1996. Porcine non-surgical embryo transfer. Journal of animal science, 74(9), pp.2263-2268.

Madzingira, O., 2018. Animal welfare considerations in food-producing animals. In: M, Abubakar and S. Manzoor, eds. 2018. Animal Welfare. Intech Open. pp.99-122.

Maes, D., Lopez Rodriguez, A., Rijsselaere, T., Vyt, P. and Van Soom, A., 2011. Artificial insemination in pigs. In Artificial insemination in farm animals, pp. 79-94.

Malopolska, M.M., Tuz, R., Lambert, B.D., Nowicki, J. and Tomasz, T., 2018. The replacement gilt: current strategies for improvement of the breeding herd. Journal of Swine Health and Production, 26(4), pp. 208-214.

Mavromichalis, I., 2016. Nutrition guidelines for feeding breeding boars. Pig Nutrition, [online] Available at: [Accessed 29 July 2021].

National Swine Registry (2018). What is the NSR?. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

NADIS, n.d. Husbandry and Handling Young Pigs. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Obayelu, A.E., Ogunmola, O.O. and Sowande, O.K., 2017. Economic analysis and the determinants of pig production in Ogun State, Nigeria. Agriculturia Tropica Et Subtropica, 50(2), pp. 61-70.

Okamoto, A., Ikeda, M., Kaneko, A., Kishida, C., Shimada, M. and Yamashita, Y., 2016. The novel pig in vitro maturation system to improve developmental competence of oocytes derived from atretic nonvascularized follicles. Biology of Reproduction, 95(4), pp.76-1.

Petersen, S.T., 2009. Solving a key sow production challenge - Lactation feed intake in the summer. [online] Available at: [Accessed 29 July 2021].

Pinto, C. R. F., 2014. Embryo transfer in pigs. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Rasmussen, K.B., 2017. Pig industry quality manual. Copenhagen: Danish Agriculture & Food Council.

RSPCA Assured, 2021. What Are Farrowing Crates? [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Sandercock, D., 2016. Farewelldock: Ending Tail Docking and Tail Biting in the Eu. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Schroder-Pedersen, D.L. and Simonsen, H.B., 2001. Tail biting in pigs. The Veterinary Journal, [e-journal]162(3), pp.196-210. https://dx.doi.org/10.1053/tvjl.2001.0605.

Singh, M.S.G. and Fong, R.W.J., 2016. Swine breeding and production in Malaysia. Food and Fertilizer Technology Center.

Tennenhouse, E., 2021. What A Delay On Canada’s Gestation Crate Ban Will Mean For Pig Welfare. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 August 2021].

Valadão, L., Silva, H., Kajabova, S. and Moreira da Silva, F., 2020.

In vitro production of porcine embryos: A descriptive approach, limitations and applications. Biomed J Sci & Tech Res, 26(2).

VanderWaal, K. and Deen, J., 2018. Global trends in infectious diseases of swine. PNAS, 114(45), pp. 11495-11500.

Vincent, C.K., Robison, O.W. and Ulberg, L.C., 1964. A technique for reciprocal embryo transfer in swine. Journal of Animal Science, 23(4), pp.1084-1088.

Yong, H.Y., Pyo, B.S., Hong, J.Y., Kang, S.K., Lee, B.C., Lee, E.S. and Hwang, W.S., 2003. A modified method for ICSI in the pig: injection of head membrane‐damaged sperm using a 3–4 µm diameter injection pipette. Human Reproduction, 18(11), pp.2390-2396.

Service/ Breeding

hoeyik1477 — 2021-07-20 15:23:37 UTC

* For boars, they are mature enough to breed in about age of 12 months.
* For females (gilts or sows), they are having their puberty after an age about 6 to 7 months. After they reach puberty, they will undergo the 21 days of estrous cycle. In the time that they undergo the estrous cycle, they will proceed to heat for 36 to 98 hours which they are sexually receptive.

(B.C. Pork, 2020)

i) Boars
> A pen is used to keep a boar alone. This can reduce the aggressiveness and this can determine the paternity of offspring. The pen can be used for mating and the pen is consists of bedding which provide foothold of boars while mating.

ii) Females (Sows and gilts)
> The females will be introduced into a pen with a boar inside the pen for mating.
> In some farms, after the mating or inseminated, the females are stored in the sow stalls during the period of first 4 weeks and last week of pregnancy. The stalls can maximize the stocking density and ease the management by the farmers. The stalls also prevent the females fighting with each other.

(Compassion, 2013)

* For breeding, there will be two major methods can be applied in the farm which are natural breeding and artificial breeding.

[Natural breeding]
> Most adopted by extensive farming.
> The boar can breeding with approximately 20 females.
> The boars will be introduce to the females for 21 days and above and the boars themselves will have the ability to detect the heat from the females.

[Artificial breeding]
> This method is more likely to conduct in an intensive farming.
> This method requires heat checking before the artificial breeding be conducted.
> This is the alternative way to introduce pregnancy whereby these processes are done artificially by humans.

(B.C. Pork, 2020)

*After mating or inseminated, the ultrasound can be used to check the presence of pregnancy after one month (Compassion, 2013).

Source: (Mavromichalis, 2016)

Gestation

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Duration: 3:3:3 (months: weeks: days)

Environment must keep clean for comfortable staying and reduce the stress of the pregnant females.

(B.C. Pork, 2020)

In some farms, the pregnant females will be moved into stalls at the first four weeks of pregnancy for ease body check up by veterinarian (Compassion, 2013).

Farrowing

hoeyik1477 — 2021-07-20 15:24:12 UTC

In farrowing process, there are divided into three processes which are pre-farrowing, farrowing and post-farrowing.

Pre-farrowing
> After the gestation about 116 days, the females will start to prepare themselves for birth and they will start to build nest. The farmers usually will provide them with straw for nesting and this can relieve the stress.
> Before a week near the farrowing period, the females should be moved to the farrowing area for them to acclimatize. The farrowing area should be disinfected, sanitized and cleaned before the farrowing process is conducted.
> In the area of farrowing, some heat sources should be provided to maintain the warm environment.

Farrowing
> The farrowing process can take up to one to six hours and the piglets will be born between in either seconds or to an hour.
> The best timing for the born of piglets is roughly within 15 to 20 minutes each piglet.
> When farrowing, the females will begin to lay on side. They will start breath rapidly and their vulva will started to become swollen and reddened.
> The time taken for farrowing by gilts are much more longer than the sows.
> When the piglets are born, the umbilical cord that connects to placenta will being snapped after the piglets move themselves towards the udder or when the sow stands up.

Post-farrowing
> After the birth, the sows are laying on her side for the piglets to nurse. The farmers must make sure that the sows are allow to exposed their udder to the piglets to nurse.
> The farmers must also make sure the sows does not show aggressiveness towards her piglets.
> There are predictable behavior of the sows after the farrowing which can observed by the farmers. For example, they will undergo sleeping followed by milking her piglets, standing, defecate and urinate, and having meal. These behavior will be repeated.

(B.C. Pork, 2020)

In other intensive farms,
> For the few days before farrowing, the gestating females will be moved to the farrowing crates that installed with steel cage to avoid a big movement of gestation females from crushing the piglets after farrowing. There will be slatted area for dunging in concrete floor.
> There are heated creep areas provided for new born piglets to avoid the piglets being crushed by sows.
> After farrowing, the sows can be kept inside the farrowing crates until the piglets are weaned.

(Compassion, 2013)

Lactation

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> The sows will having a high demand of metabolism for lactation.
> The feeding requirement for lactating sows is important for maintaining their body condition while lactating.

(B.C. Pork, 2020)

Source: (Petersen, 2009)

Finishing

hoeyik1477 — 2021-07-20 15:24:35 UTC

> As the pigs grow, some pigs might getting heavier which can lead to less activities such as walking. They would rather sit and lay on the ground.
>The pigs that are much more larger will grow slower than growers and weaners, and they will have high fat gain and reduced lean growth in the latter finishing part.

Marketable weight
[Commercial production] = Approximately 95 to 110 kg
[Outdoor production] = Approximately 75 to 85 kg

(B.C. Pork, 2020)

Piglets (Nursing to Weaning)

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i) Day 1 to Day 4
>The colostrum will be produced continuously when farrowing starts until about 12 hours.
>The piglets must also supply with iron by injection before 4 days old.
>In the farm, the piglets must proceed to different processes which are castration, tail docking and ear tagging.
>The environment for the piglets must be draft free, clean, dry and bedded area that is fresh.

ii) Day 4 to (Days 21 to 50) Day of weaning
>For the piglets, they must be keep observed on their behavior. The piglets must be make sure that they are nurse together. A prepared soiling area is needed for their defecation and urination.

>There are two types of weaning which are natural and controlled weaning.
[Natural weaning]
*The piglets themselves will slowly out of nursing which will controlled by the sow. This can helps the piglets attracted with solid feed naturally. Even though the piglets is slowly gravitated to the solid feed, they sometimes will also nurse the sows.

[Controlled weaning]
*For controlled weaning, the piglets are weaned in about 3 weeks age.
*The piglets are removed from sows physically.

> The pigs may loss appetite at the days of weaning and after weaning.
> They will show tired behavior.
> They will explore the new environment and interacting with each other. They will also start to find for the water and feed access.

iii) Weaner to Grower
> The pigs will having different behavior when start aging such as sleep, eat, play and explore environment.
> A pig that is healthy can grow up to 0.5 kg per day.

(B.C. Pork, 2020)

Source: (Farmer, 2021)

Feed requirement for each production stage

hoeyik1477 — 2021-07-28 16:14:42 UTC

Breeding
>For boars, they should not be over fed and the body condition should be maintain by having a good feeding strategy of feed consumption in 2% body weight daily. They may also need 24/7 access to fresh water.
>For gilts, they will be fed ad lib for 6 months and the daily feed consumption will be controlled to 2 to 3% body weight afterwards.

Gestation
>Feed is manipulated based on animal requirement to maintain a good condition for the farrowing process.
>Generally, the normal feed requirement for the gestating females is about 1.5% of their body weight per day. The feeding will be conducted twice per day.
>They will also need 24/7 fresh water access.
>The feeding is also based on their body condition score. For example, for the thin gestating females, the feed amount should be increase and vice versa.
>For the gestating females that undergone 100 days of pregnancy or having large litters, the amount of feed are indeed to increase.

Farrowing
*For the feeding of the females, they usually will lose their appetite when the farrowing is close and they might not eating on the farrowing day. After the farrowing, they will start their consumption for milk production.
*The feed and water provided should be fresh and clean.

Lactation
>The lactating sows are fed ad lib and 24/7 quality water access.
>The normal feed for lactating sows are the total consumption will be about 2% of body weight per day and added in with 0.5kg for each nursing piglets.

Day 1 to Day 4 weaning
>After farrowing, the piglets must nurse the sows within 6 to 12 hours for consuming colostrum.

Day 4 to (Days 21 to 50) Day of weaning
>In terms of feed, the creep feed is prepared for the piglets to consumption prior their weaning. The feed is prepared for the piglets at the age of days 10 to 14.
>Start from Day 10, approximately 20 to 50 gram of creep feed per day can be supply to the piglet.

Weaner to Grower
>The creep feed is supply for the pigs after weaning and the creep feed supplement is based on their weaning age.
For example, the piglets that weaned around 21 days age, the creep feed can be provided for 1 to 2 weeks whereas for the piglets weaned above 21 days age or under natural weaning, the piglets will supply with creep feed for 1 to 2 days.
>The pigs in growing stage should be having unlimited access to fresh feed and 24/7 access to fresh quality water.

Finishing
>For the pigs are in finishing stage, the farmers should plan on the daily feeding for the finishing pigs prior slaughter.
>Low cost diet can be used which is economic beneficial.
[High weight and growth prior slaughter] = feed ad lib
[Maintain weight] = provide daily diet of 1.5% body weight
[Desired fat content] = adjust feed in finisher stage
>They also need 24/7 quality water access.

Replacement breeder
> For replacement breeder, it is generally has the similar growing environment as the meat production swine but the feed supplement will be different.
> After initial grower stage, the pigs are fed with the feed that contains the nutrients required for reproduction. They are most probably will be fed with ad lib daily until reach their 1.5% of body weight.
> The farmers should make sure that the breeders should not overfat and over-conditioned. This will lead to reduced libido, injured when breeding and health complications.

(B.C. Pork, 2020)

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-07-29 13:25:42 UTC

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs)

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-07-31 10:59:15 UTC

Animal Welfare in Swine Farming

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Sustainable animal farming

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Intensive swine production stages

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In farm

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In lab

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Ovaries collection

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1. Local slaughterhouse
- collected from slaughterhouse after slaughtering and transport to lab within 2 hours
- In lab, the ovaries will be washed with saline twice
- the quality of ovaries are evaluated and cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) with 4 cumulus cells will be selected
(Valadão, et al., 2020)

2. collected by oviduct washing (Gadea, et al., 2020)

Artificial insemination (AI)

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-07-31 11:41:38 UTC

- useful to introduce superior gene into sow with minimal contamination risk
- fresh diluted semen is used for intracervical insemination
- insemination is expected to be done within 12-24 hours before ovulation (as close as possible)
- Post-cervical or intrauterine insemination with several devices has been developed to traverse the cervix and deposit sperm in the uterine body or posterior horn of multiparous sows
(Maes, et al., 2011)

Semen collection

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-07-31 11:41:52 UTC

1. Glove hand technique
- The semen will be collected from a boar trained to mount on sow dummy
- Gloved hand need to grab the end of penis firmly to prevent rotation
- The semen will be collected in pre-warmed container with cheesecloth (to filter gel portion)
- Pre-sperm, first part of semen (clear and watery) will be discarded
- done in non-slippery room with sterile and clean equipment
(Maes, et al., 2011)

2. Automated semen collection system
- will regulate volume of air and pressure in artificial vagina
- automated filter and collect semen into collection bag
(Aneas, Gary and Bouvier, 2008)

Embryo collection

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-07-31 11:41:57 UTC

1. slaughtered genetically valuable sow
- collect the reproductive tract and retrieve the embryos

2. surgical approach
- ventral laparotomy of the caudal abdomen

3. non-surgical technique
- collected 4-7 days after ovulation by flushing
(Pinto, 2014)

In vitro fertilization (IVF)

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Fertilization process in artificial environment which mimic the oviductal condition
(Gadea, et al., 2020)

Embryo culture

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-07-31 11:42:21 UTC

- last stage of in vitro embryo production
- the zygote is transferred into medium with optimum nutrient for the development of morula and blastocyst later
(Valadão, et al., 2020)

Cryopreservation

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-07-31 11:42:42 UTC

Cryopreserve and storage of sperm, oocyte or embryo according to freezing protocol
(Gadea, et al., 2020)

Embryo transfer (ET)

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-07-31 11:52:53 UTC

Transfer of embryo which collected from donor pigs/ in vitro culture into recipient pigs

Two different ways:
Surgical:
- made for sow 46-58 hours after estrus
- sow isolated from feed and water for 12-24 hours before surgery
- embryo ≤ 4 cells, transfer into oviduct
embryo >4 cells, transfer into uterus
(Vincent, Robison and Ulberg, 1964)

Non-surgical:
- Transfer of embryo with embryo carrier, a tubing complex apparatus
- embryo carrier has a soft leading tube to form loop during insertion into lumen of uterus
- a tubing connector with two openings to release embryos
(Li, er al., 1996)

In vitro maturation (IVM)

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-07-31 13:24:51 UTC

Stimulate the oocyte maturation with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), steroid hormone and growth factors [eg. endothelial growth factor (EGF)]
(Okamoto, et al., 2016)

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weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 19:41:55 UTC

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Introduction

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Greetings to our beloved readers

weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 19:43:37 UTC

Welcome to the Wiggly Piggly group blog ( •̀ ω •́ )

Our journey today is to explore the swine farm~ oink oink

We will start off with the background of swine farming, followed by interesting information on the ARTS that is applied in swine farming. Besides that, we will also inform you of the current issue in animal welfare as well as how to manage a farm sustainably.

Have fun and hope you enjoyed our blog~ 💖😜
Do show us love by pressing the ❤ button😘

PS: we have attached music for you to enjoy while looking through our blog (～￣▽￣)～

DOMESTICATION

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weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 20:12:54 UTC

Genus:Sus
Family:Suidae
Order:Artiodactyla
(Flink,2014)

Originated from Eurasia wild boar (Sus scrofa)(Giuffra, et al., 2000).
Among first animal to be domesticated (Evin, Dobney and Cucchi, 2017).
First domesticated in the Near East around 8500 and 8000 cal BC (Caliebe, et al., 2017).

GENERAL TERMS

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Swine - general terms, used without any relation to gender, weight & age

Weight

Weaner pigs - 25 to 39 pounds
Feeder - 40 - 80 pounds
- sold to be finished
Hog - > 120 pounds
Pig - < 120 pounds
Finisher - 175 to 275 pounds
Markers hogs - > 220 pounds
- ready to be butchered

Gender & Reproductive status

Male

Boars - sexually matured males
Barrows - castrated at a young age
Stag - castrated after maturity

Female

Sows - given birth to ≥ 1 litter
Gilts - never given birth
- destined to be a mother

Age

Piglet - unweaned young pig
Feeder / Grower - pig of weaning age

REPRODUCTION CYCLE

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Polyestrous (>1 estrus in a year)
Polytocous (multiple offspring)

(Geisert and Lucy, 2018)

2.3 farrowing per year
Producing 9.5 to 12.5 piglets per litter (Irfan, 2013)

GENERAL SELECTION CRITERIA (BREEDING)

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Gilt selection

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Structural condition

the desired trait of legs - straight, strong, set to pastern, wide apart
properly developed limb:

reduces the risk of piglet crushing during farrowing
supports additional weight during:
- mating
- pregnancy

Reproductive organs

Udder
- wide and properly developed
- at least 12 - 16 nipples
- evenly spaced nipples & in a straight line
Vulva
- well developed and shaped
- proportional in size
- tip pointing downward

Body weight and litter size at birth

gilts impacted by dam's performance
Select gilt based on litter size:

1. gilt chosen is the largest and heaviest

dams should have high fertility

2. select from a smaller litter due to:

larger uterine space
better condition for growth and development during gestation

Growth rates

choose gilt with a good appetite to prevent excessive fattening
overweight gilt reduces:
- longetivity
- reproductive efficiency

(Malopolska, et al., 2018)

SWINE BREED

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Irfan, T., 2013. General reproductive properties in pigs. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, [e-journal] 37, pp. 1-5. https://doi.org/10.3906/vet-1105-14.

IMPORTANCE OF SWINE FARMING

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Duroc

Originated form US
2nd most recorded breed in US, major breed in many countries
outstanding terminal/paternal sire choice
- good muscle quality
- fast growth
- has good feed conversion ratio

Characteristics

red pig with drooping ear
muscular
broad ham and shoulder
Average live weight:
- male = 300 kg
- female = 250 kg

(National Swine Registry,2018; FAO, 2009)

Ideal duroc features:

weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 21:39:21 UTC

Increase food security

pork production:
- source of animal-based protein
- accounts for ~35% of all meat production (VanderWaal and Deen, 2016)

may help to alleviate food security:
- swine have a shorter live cycle than most ruminants
- higher feed efficiency

(Obayelu, Ogunmola and Sowande, 2017)

Increase livelihood and reduce poverty

increase the employment rate and subsequently increase incomes
high and fast return rate, especially in a rural areas (FAO, 2011)

Other

provide raw materials (skin & hoof) for agro-based industries (Obayelu, Ogunmola and Sowande, 2017)

weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 21:42:55 UTC

Yorkshire (large white)

Originated from England
most breed in the US and Canada
often used as a grandparent (GP) for F1 female parent stock, excel in
- litter size
- birth and weaning weight
- rebreeding rate
- durability and longetivity

Characteristic

white in colour and have erected ears
muscular
high proportion of lean mean
low backfat
average live weight:
- male = 300 - 450 kg
- female = 250 - 350 kg

(National Swine Registry,2018; FAO, 2009)

Ideal yorkshire features:

weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 21:43:00 UTC

Landrace

Originated form Europe
5th most breed swine in US
known for their:
- body length,
- high % of carcass weight in ham and loin
- ideal amount to finish
often used as a grandparent (GP) for F1 female parent stock, excel in:
- litter size
- birth and weaning weight
- rebreeding rate
- durability and longevity

Characteristics:

white in colour
droopy ear and slant forward, nearly parallel with a straight nose
able to farrow and raise a large litter
average live weight:
- male = 310 - 400 kg
- female = 250 - 330 lkh

(National Swine Registry,2018; FAO, 2009)

Ideal landrace charcteristic:

weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 21:44:36 UTC

Hampshire

Originated from England
fourth-most breed in US
lean meat breed
used as a terminal sire
- increase primal yield, durability and longevity
- superior carcass composition

Characteristic:

hogs are black with white belt
- the belt should encircle the body and include both legs and feet
erect ear
heavily muscled
average live weight:
- male = 300 kg
- female = 250 kg

(National Swine Registry,2018; FAO, 2009)

Ideal hampshire features:

Boar selection

weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 22:18:13 UTC

do not have any physical defect of the penis such as:
- tied penis
- limp penis
- adhered penis
- coiling of the penis in the diverticulum
- infantile penis
able to extend penis without physical manipulation
good semen quality

(National Swine Registry, 2018)

weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 23:12:26 UTC

Berkshire

Most popular swine breed in Malaysia

weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 23:12:34 UTC

Yorkshire
Duroc
Landrace

weipingtiong22 — 2021-07-31 23:16:00 UTC

Chester white

Originated from US

Characteristic:

all white
downward and medium-sized ear
Average live weight = 500 to 650 kg

Strength:

mothering ability
good durability
soundness

(Certified Pedigree Swine, 2014)

Male and female chester white:

Gestation!

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-08-01 06:13:24 UTC

IN MALAYSIA

weipingtiong22 — 2021-08-01 06:50:34 UTC

Male breeding line:

Duroc, Hampshire, Pietrain & Yorkshire
Reason:
- provide food carcass merit
- goof feed conversion ratio

Female breeding line:

Landrace and Yorkshire
Reason:
- good mothering ability
- good temperant
- large litter size

(Fong and Singh, 2016)

weipingtiong22 — 2021-08-01 06:54:06 UTC

Pietrain

Originated from Belgium
often used as a terminal sire in Europe
- lean carcasses
- large muscle volume

Characteristic

predominantly white with black spot
- black spot intensity varies due to variations in pigment content
erect ear
Average live weight
- male = 240 to 260 kg
- female = 220 to 240 kg

( Global Ag Media, 2021a)

Male and femaie pietrain:

Other common swine breed

weipingtiong22 — 2021-08-01 06:58:57 UTC

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-08-01 07:57:28 UTC

Fertilization by injecting an immobilized spermatozoa into cytoplasmic
(Yong, et al., 2003)

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-08-01 08:09:14 UTC

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-08-01 08:27:21 UTC

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-08-01 08:29:06 UTC

Pork cut

weipingtiong22 — 2021-08-01 09:14:27 UTC

weipingtiong22 — 2021-08-01 09:16:58 UTC

Spotted

originated from Indiana
used as terminal breed
- high feed efficiency quality
- fast weight gain
- good carcass quality

Characteristics

predominantly black and white spots with no red or brown tints
drooping ears
Average live weight = 200 kg

(Breeds of Livestock, 1999; Global AG Media, 2021b)

Spotted swine:

Definition of animal welfare

wiiliamtong299 — 2021-08-01 11:48:33 UTC

Do not have specific definitions and are difficult to explain since different context and the researchers own backgrounds proposed different interpretations (Carenzi and Verga, 2009).
Generally defined as the animals are not mistreated and do not experience any pain or suffering, as well as the living conditions or environments are in good conditions to ensure that the mental and physical states of the animals are in good health (Broom, 1991; Madzingira, 2018).
Humans should provide farm animals with sufficient and good quality resources and utmost living environments to ensure positive welfare status in terms of their physiological, behavioral and biological needs since they are living organisms which have feelings and emotions (Broom, 2016; Madzingira, 2018).

Source: (Granger, 2020).

Concept of 'freedom' in animal husbandry

wiiliamtong299 — 2021-08-01 13:07:10 UTC

These freedoms are known as "Brambell Five Freedoms" are as shown below:

Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition: providing clean water and balanced diet for healthy growth.
Freedom from discomfort: providing shelter for the animals to rest.
Freedom from pain, injury or disease: treatment and prevention through early detection of the disease.
Freedom to express normal behavior: providing adequate space, suitable facilities and companionship of the same animal species.
Freedom from fear and distress: necessary to ensure conditions and treatments that do not lead to mental suffering.

(Carenzi and Verga, 2009; Elischer, 2019).

Sustainable Farming Practices

2021-08-01 14:19:04 UTC

1) Feed Management
- Develop alternative non-conventional feeding plan to reduce feed input
- Replace conventional swine feed, such as maize and soya cake, by other crops, such as palm kernel cake, banana, bamboo, coconut, mango, cassava leaves, sugarcane, etc.
- Setup unused farm section for alternative feed plantation
- Utilize the manure output from farm as nutrient source for swine-feeding crop plantation (Verhulst, n.d.)

2) Manure Management
- Aims to monitor and control manure output for preservation of surrounding environment
- Feed ration adjustment: Construct proper feeding plan to minimize feed cost by providing feed that meets swine's basic nutrient need and reduce the manure output
- Sophisticated manure systems: Complete manure collection to collect, control and utilize the manure as fertilizer
- Advantages:
a. Reduce soil, water, and air pollution by avoiding improper manure disposal
b. Reduce greenhouse gases emission
c. Reduce energy cost
d. Improve soil productivity and promote soil biodiversity
e. Use of manure as raw material for production of organic fertilizer for crop productions that can be used as swine feed

3) Carbon Footprint Management
- Aims to control and reduce the greenhouse gases emission along production chain
- Carbon Footprint Calculator: Created for estimation of greenhouse gases amount released by farmers at their production sites
- Implementation of alternative energy source, such as solar panels, wind turbines, and methane digesters, to:
a. Save up energy cost
b. Reduce emission of greenhouse gases
c. Achieve carbon negative farming practices

4) Health Protection
- Implementation of Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus)
- Complex education, training, and certification programme about food safety and animal well-being
- Focus on animal health management to reduce health risks of animals and humans
- Development of standard medication administration and inventory
- Build up good relationship with collaborate veterinarians
- Roles of veterinarian:
a. Disease diagnosis and treatment of sick animals
b. Create complete animal health record database for review
c. Practice preventive methods of disease introduction and spreading in farming site
d. Planning of proper vaccination programme for animals
e. Construct safe medicine use protocol to avoid medicine abuse
f. Develop effective farm biosecurity plan to reduce introduction of pathogenic organisms
- Implementation of Transport Quality Assurance (TQA)
- Helps to train transporter, farmer, and handlers about the proper swine handling, moving, and transporting processes
- Avoid damages to swine across supply chain and enhance animal welfare and product quality

(We Care Commitment, 2021)

Importance of animal welfare in animal farming

wiiliamtong299 — 2021-08-01 21:18:08 UTC

Humans benefit from domesticated animals through meat and milk.
Improving food productivity, food safety and quality helps in achieving food security and contributes to economic profitability.
Reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases in humans.
Reduce veterinary costs and lower mortality rates.
Healthy animals have positive impacts on growth, reproduction and meat quality, thus generating profits for producers.
Prevent damage such as bruises and injuries that can reduce the carcass quality.
Lowered the labour costs since animals can move easily through the pens without any difficulty.

(Madzingira, 2018; Food Print, 2021)

Steps in taking care of animal welfare of swine

wiiliamtong299 — 2021-08-01 22:45:09 UTC

Intensive farming where the swine are kept under confinement have several negative impacts due to restriction in movement and limited space.
Swine are social animals and are highly emotional.
Intensification in swine farming leads to:
- Overcrowding
- Poor ventilation
- Tail biting and tail docking
- Slatted floor usage

1) High Stocking Densities

For animal welfare, the provided space in housing should be adequate for the swine to have ease in lying down, resting down and standing up.
Behavior such as bar-biting can be avoided by providing other swine for companion or social interactions.
Pregnant sows confined under gestation crates throughout the 16 weeks of gestation periods have uniform feeds which can reduce their appetite since swine naturally exhibit foraging various types of foodstuffs.
Sows kept under gestation crates also have less time for resting and difficulty to lie down which can cause frustration.
Negatively affect the physical and psychologically of the sows.
Group housing can be applied but proper management needs to be implemented since dominant sows can outcompete other sows for feed causing other sows to have underweight and aggression injuries when competing for resources.
Individual electronic sow feeders can be applied to protect the sows from feeding competitions with one another.
Sows are transferred to farrowing crates one weeks earlier before farrowing and will raise the piglets for three to four months prior to weaning.
Farrowing crates are much narrower than gestation crates but provide more space to the piglets and to ensure the piglets survivability.
Sows are only permitted to lie down, hence farrowing crate feeders and water devices need to be installed to prevent malnutrition among the sows.
Well-being sows can produce sufficient amounts of milk for the piglets.
Teeth clipping will be performed on newly-born piglets to prevent the canine teeth from causing any injury to each other and to the udder and teat of the sow's during fighting for suckling which can cause bacterial infections.

2) Poor Ventilation

Swine houses should be equipped with good ventilation to prevent buildup of ammonia and heat.
Swine manures need to be removed from the houses immediately to prevent the emission of toxic gases which can harm the animal's health.
Noise level at the surrounding area of the swine houses should be maintained at low level to prevent the swine from suffering stress and fear.

3) Tail Biting and Tail Docking

Tail biting mostly occurs among swine in intensive production systems.
Causing damage to the tail and the infection will cause abscesses to the organs such as spinal and lungs.
Producers performed tail docking and teeth clipping on the piglets without anesthesia which is very painful for the piglets to reduce the occurrence of tail biting.
Isoflurane is commonly used in Denmark and Germany as pain relief and the injection needs to be given at least half an hour before the tail docking.
Providing straw as beddings, good ventilation and low stocking rates can reduce the incidence of tail biting.

4) Slatted Floor Usage

Bedding or rooting needs to be provided for pregnant sows and growing pigs since the slatted floors are normally slippery, wet and cold and to prevent injury during locomotion.
Bedding enables the swine to mimic behaviors such as wallowing in mud and reducing aggression states.
Encouraging the swine to display positive feelings.

(Schroder-Pedersen and Simonsen, 2001; Lawrence, Newberry and Špinka, 2017; Madzingira, 2018; Compassion in World Farming, 2021a; Compassion in World Farming, 2021b; Food Print, 2021).

Gestation crate

wiiliamtong299 — 2021-08-02 01:47:58 UTC

Source: (Tennenhouse, 2021).

Farrowing crate

wiiliamtong299 — 2021-08-02 01:48:24 UTC

Source: (RSPCA Assured, 2021).

Tail docking

wiiliamtong299 — 2021-08-02 01:53:19 UTC

Source: (Sandercock, 2016).

Teeth clipping

wiiliamtong299 — 2021-08-02 02:07:08 UTC

Source: (NADIS, n.d.).

jiahaotan2000 — 2021-08-02 04:12:19 UTC