herd management

1. HERD
MANAGEMENT

2. Swine Herd Management
Swine herd management is
important for both
reproductive and grow-
finish operations. Grow-
finish refers to farms that
grow and fatten hogs in a
certain weight class for
slaughter.

3. Swine Herd Division
It ensures the appropriate
nutrition of various age
groups of herd

4. Pregnant Sow Management
Diagnosis of gestation in the
sow
•No return to estrus
•Vaginal biopsy
•Ultrasonography
(ultrasound)

5. Pregnant Sow Management
Facilities for the pregnant
sow
•Gestation area
•Maternity area

6. Pregnant Sow Management
Gestation/Maternity area

7. Pregnant Sow Management
Feeding on the pregnant sow
Adequately conditioned sows
can be fed roughly 4-to-6
pounds of feed per sow per
day during gestation.

8. Pregnant Sow Management
Conclusions
•The gestating sow is the
main axis of pig production.
It is vital to establish good
management of the
pregnant sow to ensure
optimal reproductive
performance.

9. Dry Sow Management
A good sow should come into
heat and be ready for service
within 3 to 7 days after
weaning, and in order to
achieve this it is important
that the following points be
given attention:

10. Dry Sow Management

Always keep the sow in good
health and body condition.

Keep the lactation period not
longer than six weeks.

11. Dry Sow Management

Do not feed the sow on the
day of weaning.

Expose weaned sows to the
boar.

12. Dry Sow Management

Hormone injection can be
used as last resort to induce
heat occurrence if sows does
not come into heat 10-12
days after weaning

13. Dry Sow Management

Old sows of parity eight and
above tend to have longer
dry periods.

Keep sows as cool as possible
during summer.

14. Dry Sow Management

Check dry sows for heat
occurrence twice a day.

Observe the right timing of
breeding.

15. Gilt Management
Good management and
selection of gilts is
fundamental for maintaining
a productive herd.

16. Gilt Management
Targets
•Maintain a gilt pool, from 90
kg to service
•Maximise the number of gilts
achieving puberty
•Manage the culling policy to
maintain an optimum parity
profile

17. Gilt Management
An example of a gilt rearing
facility – good light, floor
surface, air quality, ad lib
feeding and a space
allowance of at least 0.65
square meters per gilt.

18. Gilt Management

19. Piglet Management
Newborn piglets are poorly
equipped to keep warm
immediately after birth and
as the energy reserves to
produce body heat (glycogen
stored in the liver) are
limited

20. Piglet Management
Reasons for piglet chilling include:

Small size means they lose
heat fast

Lack of brown fat (no
internal heat source)

21. Piglet Management
Reasons for piglet chilling include:

Little surface fat and no hair
(no insulation)

Born wet with birth fluids
(further chilling)

22. Piglet Management
Colostrum
•Colostrum is the ‘first milk’
and an essential source of
energy, nutrients and
immunity for the piglet

23. Piglet Management
Colostrum
•Colostrum is critical for
development of the piglets’
own immune system and
optimum lifetime
performance.

24. Piglet Management
Colostrum
•Maximise colostrum intake
in the first 6 hours after
birth achieving at least 100
ml intake per kilogram of
birthweight by 16 hours post
farrowing.

25. Piglet Management
Colostrum
Beyond 24 hours is too late
as the piglets’ intestines can
no longer absorb the large
antibodies found in
colostrum.

26. Piglet Management
Colostrum
Colostrum is only available in
quantity for about 12 hours
and after 20 hours the sow
will be producing milk and
not colostrum

27. Boar Management
So far as overall
improvement is concerned, a
boar has far more influence
in a herd than the average
sow.

28. Boar Management

29. Boar Management
So far as overall
improvement is concerned, a
boar has far more influence
in a herd than the average
sow.

30. Boar Management
Boar sow ratio
This is usually one boar per
20 sows with supervised
hand matings, but in small
herds or under extensive
conditions, the ratio could
be between 15 and 18 sows
per boar.

31. Boar Management
Boar pen
If conditions are considered
extreme, serious
consideration should be
given to providing a strong,
well-insulated pen for
sleeping and feeding.

32. Boar Management
Pen shape and size
The service area should be
at least 2.5 m × 3 m.

33. THANK YOU!