Pig Breeding and Reproduction
Recommended Breeds of Pig to Start a Pig Farm
After constructing the pig house and putting all necessary infrastructures in place, the next thing to do is deciding on the breeds and number of pigs to keep in the house. This is a very important stage because the decision you make will determine the profit level of your pig farming venture.
There are many breeds of pigs. We have local breeds and exotic breeds. If you’re going on a commercial scale, keeping exotic breeds of pigs is recommended. The following are the recommended exotic breeds:
Large White
Landrace
Learn MoreDuroc
Poland China
Tamworth
Yorkshire
Hampshire
Crosses of the above
Considerations When Selecting Boars and Sows for Breeding
The following should be considered before you choose or select your boars or sows.
- The boars and sows should have a minimum of 12 normal nipples and teats respectively, 6 on each side.
- They should be the healthiest and biggest in their group.
- They should possess strong legs and be able to walk well.
- Their parents should have excellent performance records, such as good-sized litters, good feed conversion and excellent mothering ability.
- They should not be inbred. This means they should be from different sources.
Read also: 10 awesome facts about pig farming business
How to Manage the Boar
A young, healthy boar is matured for mating when he is 9 – 10 months old. Make sure that the first sow the boar will serve is not bigger than the boar. You should also avoid overusing a boar for mating. Overworking a boar is detrimental to his health and productivity.
Normally, a healthy boar can serve between 10 – 20 sows. Cull your breeding boar after 3 years and replace it with another good boar. Don’t allow a boar to service or mate his own daughters as doing this will result in inbreeding.
You should care for the boars by feeding them and allow them to do many exercises. Boars should not be too lean or too fat. When a boar is ill, allow him to rest for 4 – 8 weeks and let another boar take over the servicing task until the main boar is fit. Don’t keep boars together with sows to disallow indiscriminate mating or inaccurate records.
Read also: Techniques to manage the environmental impact of pigs
How to Manage the Sow
Sows shouldn’t be allowed to grow fat. When this happens, the affected sows will have leg and fertility problems. Allow all sows to get plenty of exercise in order to stay fit, burn out excess fat and develop their legs well.
Normally, young sows (gilts) are mature to conceive at 6 months of age, but servicing them at this age is not advised. They should be allowed to attain good weight before they are serviced. So wait until the gilts reach 8 – 10 months before they could be serviced. If gilts are serviced too early, there will be poor growth, small litters, farrowing (birth) problems and loss of conditions.
Few weeks before servicing gilts or sows, they should be well-fed with protein-rich food or feed and extra quantities of feed should be provided. These make them fit and strong for mating, and allow the animals to produce more eggs for fertilization.
The gestation period of pigs is 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. Most pigs farrow after 114 – 115 days.
How to Know When a Sow is in Heat (Oestrus)
The following are the signs of heat (oestrus) in female pigs:
Swelling and redness of the vulva which is more evident in gilts than sows.
Mucous discharge from the vulva
Mounting of other sows in the pen
Sows in heat often don’t finish their feed
Production of a special grunting noise
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