CLASSIFICATION AND

SELECTION OF SWINE BREEDS

John Carlos D. Boyles

Department of Animal Animal Science
Visayas State University
 What are the
importance of pigs?
The Swine Industry
• ranked 8th in terms of volume of pig
production and number of sow levels
• one of the largest economic activities in
the Philippines
• ranks 2nd to rice with 18.28% to the total
value of agricultural production
• largest among the livestock and poultry
industries in the country
• Provides about 60% of Filipinos’ total
animal meat consumption
Taxonomic Classification of Pigs
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Suidae
Subfamily: Suinae
Genus: Sus
Species: scrofa, vittatus, cebifrons
Breeds of Swine
1. The Philippine Native Swine
2. Purebred
3. Upgrades
4. Synthetic Breeds (Hybrids)
Philippine Native Swine
“Indigenous animals belonging to a large
unidentified population of individuals without any
uniform traits usually ascribed to a breed”
Philippine Native Swine
They have the following general
characteristics:
▪ Small and late maturing
▪ Mostly solid black or black and white in
color
▪ Have small ears
▪ Sway back
▪ With weak pasterns
▪ Very strong motherly instinct
Pure Breeds
- Group of animals having a. Landrace
the same characteristics in b. Yorkshire (Large White)
common, which are c. Duroc
uniformly transmitted to the d. Pietrain
offspring from generation e. Hampshire
to generation. f. Berkshire
g. Poland China
h. Etc.
Landrace
- Originally developed in Denmark
for bacon production
General characteristics:
• white (black freckles are common)
• drooping ears
• longest breed of swine (16-17 ribs)
• back less arched
• prolific and good mothering abilities
• weakness: legs and pasterns
Large White/Yorkshire
- Originated in Yorkshire (England) for
bacon production
General characteristics:
• white
• erect ears
• large litter
• great milkers
• Weakness:
• Some are short and with big belly.
• Tends to develop carcasses with excess backfat.
Duroc
General characteristics
▪ light golden to dark red
▪ Drooping ears
▪ Good growth rate and FE
▪ Good muscle quality and
resistant to stress
Weakness:
▪ Well arched back
▪ Unsound legs
Pietrain
“Muscle Pig”
- Pietrain, Belgium

General characteristics
• Spotted black and white
• Ears pointed, some drooping
• Extremely muscular
• Weakness:
• Hind legs
• Highly susceptible to stress
Hampshire
“The Belted Pig”
Hampshire, England
• General characteristics:
• Black with white belt around the
shoulder and body including the
foreleg.
• Feed efficiency excellent
• Weakness:
• Small littersize at birth and weaning
• Poor mothering ability
• Black color being associated to being fat
Poland China
- From USA
General characteristics:
• Black with 6 white points:
4 feet, poll, switch
• Ears drooping
• Full jowl
Berkshire
- Berkshire, England
General characteristics:
▪ Black with 6 white points: 4 feet,
forehead switch of the tail
▪ Long bodied
Weakness:
▪ Small litter size
▪ late maturing
▪ thick backfat
▪ black skin
Meishan
- From China, considered Taihu pigs,
deriving their name from the Taihu
Lake.
▪ slow growing and fat, but have a very
good taste, resistant to some diseases
▪ The Meishan breed is known for its wrinkled
face and skin.
▪ Meishan pigs are perhaps one of the most
prolific breeds of pig in the world
▪ large litter size of 15-16 pigs
Upgrades
Upgrading: native pigs bred with foreign breeds

• Diani - upgrade of native pigs (Batangas) with Berkshire

• Kaman - upgrade of native pig (Batangas) with Duroc
• Berkjala - 5/8 Berkshire and 3/8 Jalajala pig (Rizal)
• Miracle Pig - ½ Large White ¼ Landrace ¼ Native
Synthetic Breeds
Hybrid pigs or synthetic breeds do not have distinguishing
physical characteristics which differentiate them from
other group of pigs. Most of them are white with good
muscle development.

Examples are:
Babcock, Camborough, Cotswold, Hypor, Seghers,
Minnesota No.1, Nieuw Dalland
General Characteristics to Consider in
Selection
“Judging of pigs can be seen as a way
to recognize and to evaluate economic
features which can be seen on the
external parts of the pig”

▪ Soundness (Structural)
▪ Growth Rate
▪ Muscle
▪ Trimness
▪ Underlines
▪ Reproductive Effeciency
 SELECTION OF BOAR

▪ At least 6 pairs of rudimentary teats

(NOT FUNCTIONAL), not inverted
▪ 2 big equally-sized testicles (NOT 2
PAIRS)
▪ Strong legs
▪ Strong slightly arched back
▪ Toes not uneven (NO SMALL INSIDE
TOE)
2 equally-sized testes Cryptorchid
SELECTION OF GILTS
Sound Gilt
Quick questions!
1. The earliest number of months that swine
attain sexual maturity.
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
Quick questions!
2. A gilt is ready for breeding when she has the
following except,
A. 8 months old
B. 100-120kg LW
C. Sufficient libido
D. Cycled twice
Quick questions!
3. The ears of this breed is pointing upward
A. Duroc
B. Landrace
C. Large white
D. Nieuw dalland
Swine Housing and Site
Selection

John Carlos D. Boyles

Department of Animal Science
Visayas State University
Location Requirements and
Recommended Layout for Piggeries
• A piggery must be located outside urban areas.
• It must be located at 25 m. radius from sources of ground
and surface drinking water.
• Medium and large scale piggery must be at least 1,000 m.
away from built-up areas (residential, commercial,
institutional, and industrial).
Location
• The location shall conform to the land use plan of the area.
• The site shall be accessible to service roads, water supply
and electric lines.
• The site shall be well drained and allows for free air
circulation.
• The building shall be constructed in an east-west orientation
and the structure for marketable animals shall be located
near the service road.
• The site shall be located where the prevailing winds will not
carry odors to the farmhouse.
Housing/Orientation
Nursery/Weaner Section
Nursery/Weaner Section
Growing/Finishing Section
Growing/Finishing Section
Gestating Area/Section
Gestating Stalls
Farrowing Area/Section
Farrowing Pens
Farrowing Crates
Manure Lagoon/Septic Tank
Other farm facilities and
equipment
Loading and Unloading Ramp
Weighing Scale
Truck Scale
Water Tanks
Waterer/Nipple Drinkers
Creep Feeder
Auto-Feeder
Automatic Pig Feeding System
Quick questions!
1. Mothering ability of a sow is measured by
the number of
A. Piglets born alive per sow per year
B. Piglets weaned per sow per year
C. Piglets reared per sow per year
D. Fatteners sold per sow per year
Quick questions!
2. The time or period between breeding and
farrowing
A. Lactation
B. Gestation
C. Ovulation
D. Parturition
Quick questions!
3. The time from farrowing until weaning
A. Lactation
B. Gestation
C. Ovulation
D. Parturition
 Swine Care and
management practices
John Carlos D. Boyles
Department of Animal Science
Visayas State University
Contact: johncarlosboyles@gmail.com
Philippine Swine Industry
• ranked 8th in terms of volume of pig
production and number of sow levels
• one of the largest economic activities in
the Philippines
• ranks 2nd to rice with 18.28% to the total
value of agricultural production
• largest among the livestock and poultry
industries in the country
• provides about 60% of Filipinos’ total
animal meat consumption
Breeding Management
Learning and Insights on Swine Management
Selection of Breeding Stocks
Selection is the process which determines certain
animals to be the parents of future generations. The
selected animals make up the breeding stock, this animals
should pass their good qualities to their offspring to
achieve better performance, that’s why selection is used as
an important tool for livestock improvement.
Most preferably crossing two pure breed parents is
ideal as their offspring’s may acquire heterosis which refers
to the advantage of an organism gains from being an
offspring of parents that are genetically different.
Semen Collection
The method of semen collection can have an impact
upon the quality of the sample collected (VandeVoort,
2004). It is the process of artificially collecting the semen
of a boar (Plate 12) to be used for semen analysis and
artificial insemination.
A dummy sow is needed to stimulate the boar’s
sexual drive and for easier collection of semen. The boar
must mount a dummy sow, when the boar has mounted, the
semen is collected by holding the male genital of the
animal. A jar or a beaker is used to store the semen while
the boar is ejaculating.
Microscopic
Washing andview
disinfection
Artificial
of
Semen
SEMEN
freshprocessing
COLLECTION
Insemination
boar
of laboratory
semen forequipment
evaluation
HEAT DETECTION
Heat detection is the key in the success of an effective
breeding program (Rao et al., 2013). It is a method done
to female pigs in order to identify whether the animal is in
estrus or not, complementing whether the animal is ready to
accept boars and be bred. There are several ways to
check and stimulate heat of sows.
Methods of Heat Detection
1. Back pressure test
2. Riding-the-back test
3. Semen-on-snout test
4. Teaser boar method
5. Examination of external signs
 Teaser Boar
Hunch Pressure test
Heat detection Practices
 Signs of heat
Reddish pink, slightly swollen vulva Roaring
Slight mucous discharge Riding other sows/gilts
Glazed eyes Off feed or reduced feed intake
Pricked ears or ears pop up Positive standing response to riding on
Tail upright and flicking up and down the back and haunch pressure tests
Other gilts attempt to ride other Standing reflex/standing heat
animals
Actively seeks and stands still in the
presence of the boar
Nervous (biting at bars, standing when
other sows are lying down)
Methods of Breeding
Natural Breeding - a boar is used to serve the
gilts/sows that are in heat

Artificial Insemination – a method of breeding

wherein the semen of the boar is deposited into the
gilt/sow by the use of artificial penis or catheter.
The main objective is to increase the use of good
boars.
Gestating Management
Learning and Insights on Swine Management
Gestating management
Gestation Check
A. Boar check starting at 18 days after insemination
B. Ultrasound scanning beginning on day 21
C. Visual check: enlargement of the belly and teats in gilts
and sows after 8 and 10 weeks, respectively.

Gestation Length: 110 to 119 days (average 114 days)

Farrowing
- Farrowing process is referred to as the act of giving
birth of sows.
- An intriguing process govern by hormones activated
by the piglet once it reaches its final stage of
maturity, at approximately 114 days after mating.
 Farrowing
Piglets developing in the
uterus exert a hormonal
control on the sow’s
uterine tissues, causing the
release of prostaglandin
Farrowing Management
Three main stages:
• Pre-Farrowing
• Farrowing
• Post-Farrowing

“one of the most critical phase of pork production. A relatively

high proportion of pig losses occur during these period.”
Pre-farrowing Period Management
- Special care, attention, and management is given to
pregnant sows weeks before farrowing by providing
adequate space, feed, water, etc.

Practices
• Clean and disinfect farrowing pens and keep it vacant
for a week
• Deworm sows 2-3 weeks before farrowing
• Prepare farrowing equipments
Pre-farrowing Period Management
• Ten (10) days prior to the expected farrowing date, the
sows from the breeding pen are transferred to farrowing
crates until the time of parturition.
At this point the feeding is restricted or lessen as
days of expected farrowing goes near to prevent
dystocia that can be caused by over eating.

Note! In a few days, the sow will now show farrowing signs as it
approaches it’s due date.
 Signs of Imminent Parturition
1. Increase restlessness or nervousness 6. Presence of milk indicates that the
2. Urinate frequently and twitching of farrowing is usually in < 24 hours
the tail 7. Intermittent abdominal straining
3. Show nest building behaviour occurs before the birth of the first
piglet
4. Swelling/reddening of the sow’s
vulva about 4 days before farrowing 8. Vaginal discharge (blood, meconium,
etc.) within 15-20 minutes, the first
5. Mammary glands become taunt, piglet should be born
more turbid and tense about 2 days
before farrowing
Signs of Imminent
Parturition

milk Let-down Swelling of vulva

Restlessness
and
nervousness

Taunting of Mammary glands

Management of
Farrowing Sows
Management of Farrowing Sows
At this point the sow is now starting to farrow or
currently in the process of giving birth, it is one the most
delicate aspect of a swine farm enterprise.

Constant attention! is very important in keeping

the piglets as well as the sow safe.
Management of Farrowing Sows
Farrowing Process:
• Timing/Duration - Usually 1-5 hours, but may be up to 8
hours duration
• Intervals between births - Normally 10-20 minutes but often
there is a longer interval (30-45 minutes)
between the first and second piglet
• Piglet presentation - Head first or hind legs first are both
normal
• Afterbirth - may be expelled several times during the
delivery, but a large amount at the end (1-3
hours after the last piglet).
Management of Farrowing Sows
Induced Farrowing:
• More efficient use of farrowing facilities and labor
• Able to avoid farrowing on weekends, holidays or at late hour of
the night
• More efficient cross-fostering of pigs
• More uniform age and weight of pigs at weaning
• More uniform return to estrus in sows after weaning
• Reduce incidence of stillbirths and increase piglet survival by
attending farrowing
Management of Farrowing Sows

Induced Farrowing:
- Research has shown that a 10-mg injection of prostaglandin
F2α, or a similar synthetic compound, at day 110 of gestation
(or later) will generally induce delivery of pigs about 27 to 30
hours later
Assistance During Farrowing
Manual assistance during farrowing is done by
inserting a hand inside the reproductive tract to manually
pull the trapped piglet. This is done to prevent still birth
due to suffocation of piglet inside the reproductive tract.
When the sow successfully delivers its first piglet,
monitor the time interval for the next piglet that comes out,
and if it reaches over 15 minutes, manual assistance is
needed again as the sow might not be able to propel its
piglets by her own.
Assistance
Sow experiencing
Stillbirth
during Farrowing
Dystocia
Cesarean section
- a surgical procedure in which
unborn animals are surgically removed
from the mother uterus. It is performed
when an animal is having problems while
delivering the new born and is typically
an emergency (not an elective) surgery.
Fetal abnormalities

Mummified piglets Abnormal piglets

Post-farrowing period Management
Right after farrowing, the sow and its piglets
need constant care and attention. Proper care and
handling of piglets is essential for its rate of growth
and to increase their resistance to diseases.

• Sow care and management

• Piglet care and management
Sow care and management
Learning and Insights on Post-Farrowing Management
Biocide Administration

Prostaglandin Administration
Antibiotic Injection
Lactating Sow Feeding
- Sows can produce 7.5-9.5 L of milk per day, (6.8% fat and
5.0% protein in milk).

Sow Feeding:
3-4kg per day plus 150-300g per piglet
Piglet care and management
Learning and Insights on Post-Farrowing Management
Colostrum Intake
It is important to make sure that piglets receive colostrum
soon after birth:
• A. Pigs are born with a very little disease resistance.
• B. Newborn animals can absorb intact proteins (Ig or
antibodies) by pinocytosis.
• C. Their ability to absorb antibodies decrease rapidly
after birth, closure and loss of this ability, can occur: 24 to
36 hour after birth in pigs.
Piglet care

Split suckling - isolate the

largest piglets in the litter and
let the smallest piglets suckle
first

- should be done every 30 minutes

for the first 6 hours
Piglet care

Fostering - the process of

removing the piglets from their
own natural mother to another
sow so that they are able to
gain access to a teat, suckle
and survive.
Piglet care

Multi-suckling System - sows

are group-housed together with
their piglets promoting cross-
suckling specially when a sow
cannot accommodate all of it
piglets
Piglet care
Creep Feeding - done
5 days after farrowing
through feeding solid
diet such as booster
concentrates to piglets
while they are suckling
the sow. This process
prepares the piglets’
digestive system for
weaning.
Piglet Processing
Several management procedures
collectively referred to as "processing"
which are needed to be performed on
baby pigs once they are born.
Processing procedures vary among operation but often
include:
• Needle teeth cutting • Castration
• Tail docking • Vaccination
• Animal ID • Piglet weighing
• Iron administration
Piglet Processing

Iron Dextran
WeighingTail
Castrationdocking
Needle-Teeth
EarRecord
Ear
notching
Administration
vaccination
ofnotching
Weaned
Keeping
ofCutting
system
Piglets
Piglets
to Piglets
Weaning
• the process of separating the young
from its dam
• one of the most stressful moments in
pigs’ life due to the sudden shift of diet
and separation of the piglets from their
mother

Weanling – young animal, after separation

from its dam
Treatment and Medication
Learning and Insights on Swine Management
Coccidiosis
Hog Cholera
Prevention
Vaccination
using Baycox
Quick questions!
1. The length od cutting the umbilical cord of
the newborn piglet from the base.
A. 3-4 inches
B. 3-5 inches
C. 1.5-2 inches
D. 4-5 inches
Quick questions!
2. A sow bred 25 March is expected to be
transferred to the farrowing area on
A. 01 July
B. 27 July
C. 11 July
D. 07 July
Quick questions!
3. A sow bred 25 March can be expected to
farrow on
A. 10 July
B. 17 July
C. 21 July
D. 28 July
Quick questions!
4. Which of the following animal traits has the
most important influence on animal selection
an environmental impact which is highly
considered by animal breeds at present?
A. Mothering ability
B. Litter size
C. Growth rate
D. Feed conversion efficiency