🐖Piggery Basics - Advantages, Terminology, FCR and Key Production Parameters

Introduction

• Swine Husbandry or Pig Farming or Hog Farming is the branch of animal husbandry which deals with the rearing of dometic pigs. It is one of the most efficient livestock enterprises due to the pig’s rapid growth rate, high fecundity, and excellent ability to convert diverse feed materials into meat.
• The highest pig population is in state of Assam. The north-eastern states of India, particularly Assam, have the largest concentration of pigs because pork holds significant cultural and dietary importance among tribal communities in the region.
• India pig population: ~9.06 million (20th Livestock Census, 2019). Top state: Assam (~2.10 million), followed by Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Other high-pig-population states: Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland — north-eastern states collectively hold a dominant share due to cultural significance of pork among tribal communities.
• Species: Sus scrofa domesticus (universally accepted scientific name for the domestic pig)
• Industry status: Currently primitive in India, with poor quality meat and low aesthetic value of meat produced in most traditional systems.

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Advantages

• Successfully maintained on discarded feed, garden waste and kitchen waste. This makes pigs highly economical to rear, as they can utilise low-cost feed resources that would otherwise go to waste.
• Pigs produce more live weight gain from a given weight of feed than any other class of meat producing animals except broilers. That means pigs has the highest feed conversion efficiency after the broiler. In other words, pigs convert feed into body mass more efficiently than cattle, sheep, or goats, making them a top choice for commercial meat production.
• FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio) - 1 : 2.5-3 (Lowest). A Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of 2.5 to 3 means the pig needs only 2.5 to 3 kg of feed to gain 1 kg of body weight. The lower the FCR, the more efficient the animal is at converting feed into meat.
• High growth rate: 10 Kg/month. This rapid rate of weight gain means that pigs can reach marketable weight in a relatively short time, providing a quick return on investment.
• Pigs are prolific breeder and have shorter generation intervals. A sow can be bred as early as 8-9 months of age and can farrow twice in a year. They produce 6-12 piglets in each farrowing. This high reproductive rate is one of the key advantages of pig farming, enabling rapid herd expansion.
• High dressing percentage: Meat yield in terms of dressing percentage ranges from 65-80% in comparison to other livestock species whose dressing yields may not exceed 65%. Pigs have the highest dressing percentage among all livestock — a key exam fact. Dressing percentage refers to the proportion of the live animal’s weight that becomes the usable carcass after slaughter. A higher dressing percentage means more saleable meat per animal.
• Pork is most nutritious with high fat and low water content and has got better energy value than that of other meats. It is rich in vitamins like Thiamine, Niacin, and Riboflavin. These B-complex vitamins play crucial roles in energy metabolism, nervous system function, and skin health.
• Pigs manure is widely used as fertilizer for agriculture farms and fishponds. Pig manure is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, making it an excellent organic fertiliser that improves soil fertility.
• Pig farming provides quick returns since the marketable weight of fatteners can be achieved within a period of 6-8 months.
• Pork is the most widely consumed meat globally — accounting for about 36–38% of world meat production (FAO data), ahead of poultry and beef.
• By-products of pig farming have high economic value: pigskin → leather goods; pig bristles → brushes and paintbrushes; pig pancreas → insulin (historically); pig intestine → sausage casings; heparin (anticoagulant) extracted from pig intestinal mucosa.

• There is good demand from domestic as well as the export market for pig products such as pork, bacon, ham, sausages, lard etc.
• With a small investment on building and equipment, proper feeding, and a sound disease control program the farmer can profitably utilize his time and labour in this subsidiary occupation.
• High meat : bone ratio — pigs yield more meat relative to bone compared to other livestock.
• Easily adapted to integrated or mixed farming systems (pig-fish, pig-poultry, etc.).
• Early puberty at 5-8 months and early maturity at 9-10 months of age.
• Optimal temperature varies by age group:

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Disadvantages

• Industry status in India is still primitive.
• Poor quality meat and low aesthetic value of meat produced in traditional systems.
• Cultural and religious restrictions on pork consumption limit the domestic market in many regions of India.

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Nomenclature

Understanding the correct terminology is essential for proper communication and record-keeping in swine husbandry:

• Group: Stock/Drove. A group of pigs may be referred to as a stock or a drove.
• Farrowing: Process of parturition in pigs. Farrowing is the act of a sow giving birth to her litter. The term is specific to pigs, just as “calving” is to cattle and “lambing” is to sheep.
• Coupling: Process of mating in pigs. Note that tupping is the term used for mating in sheep, not pigs.

• Piglets: Young pigs. Newborn pigs are called piglets and are dependent on the sow’s milk for the first several weeks of life.
• Boar: Uncastrated adult male pig. A boar is kept for breeding purposes and should be selected based on body conformation, growth rate, and litter size of its parents.
• Boarling: Young male is called boarling. This term refers to a young male pig that has not yet reached full breeding maturity.
• Barrow: Male pig castrated before reaching sexual maturity. Castration before sexual maturity prevents the development of boar taint, an unpleasant odour and flavour in the meat caused by the accumulation of androstenone and skatole.
• Hog/Stage: Male pig which is castrated. The term hog is also used generically in some regions to refer to any pig raised for meat.
• Castrated/Sterilised Female: Spayed. A spayed female pig has had her ovaries removed and is no longer capable of reproduction.
• Gilt: Young female swine that has not yet produced a litter. Once a gilt successfully farrows for the first time, she is then classified as a sow.
• Sow: Female swine which has farrowed at least once. A productive sow is the backbone of any pig breeding operation.
• Meat
  • Meat of pig is known as pork. Pork is one of the most widely consumed meats globally.
  • Salted smoked meat of pig is k/w bacon. Bacon is typically made from the belly or back cuts of the pig and is cured with salt and then smoked to develop its distinctive flavour.

Dentition Formula

Pigs can be aged by examining their teeth:

Dentition Type	Formula	Total Teeth
Temporary (deciduous)	3/3 - 1/1 - 3/3 - 0/0	28
Permanent	3/3 - 1/1 - 4/4 - 3/3	44

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Reproductive Data

Understanding the reproductive parameters is essential for managing a profitable breeding herd.

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Breedable Population — Boar (Male)

• Selection criteria: Masculine build with good body conformation.
• Should achieve high growth rate of 90 kg by 9 months of age.
• Housing: Individually 15-20 sq.ft.
• Feeding: 2-2.5 kg (CP 14%) daily.
• Puberty: 5-6 months of age.
• Maturity: 8-9 months of age (7 months according to TNAU).
• Although boars reach sexual maturity at 7 months, they should be at least 10-12 months old (100 kg body weight) before being put to regular use.
• Sex ratio:
  • Young boar: 1 boar : 10-15 females
  • Mature boar: 1 boar : 20-40 females
• Mating frequency: 4-5 matings/week (mature), 2-3 matings/week (young).
• Boar : Sow ratio may be 1:25.

Breedable Population — Gilt (Female)

• Number of teats: 12-14
• Puberty age: 5-7 months
• Breeding age: 8-10 months
• Body weight for breeding: 80-100 kg

Weaned Sows

• Sows are usually weaned at 8 weeks after farrowing.
• The weaned sows come into heat in 3-10 days after weaning.
• They may be bred on the first post-weaning heat itself since this period is most fertile. She may respond to nutritious diet and pick up fast if the condition is poor.

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Nutrition

• Monogastric (have single stomach). Unlike cattle and sheep which are ruminants with a four-chambered stomach, pigs have a simple, single-chambered stomach. This means they cannot efficiently digest high-fibre roughages and require concentrated, easily digestible feeds.
• Omnivorous – low fibre, high quality protein (Animal sources). Being omnivores, pigs can eat both plant and animal-based foods, but they perform best on diets containing high-quality protein from sources such as soybean meal, fishmeal, and other animal by-products.
• Requirement: Energy, protein, mineral, vitamins and additives. A well-balanced pig diet must meet all these nutritional needs to support optimal growth, reproduction, and health.

Pork Composition

Component	Value
Fat	24.8%
Protein	17.1%
Dressing percentage	70-75%

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Creep Feeding

• Creep feeding is the practice of introducing solid concentrate feed to the piglets before they are weaned. This practice helps the piglets develop their digestive system and prepares them for the transition from liquid milk to solid feed.
• The suckling piglets are provided with solid feed behind a barrier to ease the transition from sow’s milk to solid pig starter feed. The barrier (or creep area) is designed so that only the small piglets can access the feed, while the larger sow is kept out.
• It starts from 7–10 days (1–1.5 weeks) of age. Starting creep feed at this early stage allows the piglets to begin nibbling on solid food, which stimulates gut development and enzyme production.

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Flushing

• Flushing is the method of feeding sows and gilts before breeding. The purpose of flushing is to increase the body condition and nutritional status of the female just before mating.
• A good grower ration fed to sows and gilts seven to ten days before breeding helps in increased ovulation rates in them. By providing extra energy and nutrients during this critical period, the number of eggs released during ovulation increases, which can result in larger litter sizes.
• After breeding, sows and gilts should be fed at a limited but well-balanced ration until the last six weeks of pregnancy and then full feeding should be resumed. Overfeeding during early and mid-pregnancy can lead to excessive fat deposition, which may cause difficulties during farrowing.

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Weaning

• Piglets are generally weaned at 7-8 weeks old. Weaning is the process of separating piglets from the sow and transitioning them entirely to solid feed. The age of weaning can vary; in modern commercial operations, piglets are sometimes weaned as early as 3-4 weeks.
• Weaning is done after 56 days based on weight.
• Sow is separated from the piglets for a few hours each day to prevent stress of weaning and its feed is reduced gradually. This gradual weaning approach helps reduce the stress on both the sow and the piglets, preventing digestive upsets and growth checks.

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Farrowing Management

Farrowing (parturition in sows) is the most critical period in pig farming, as pre-weaning mortality ranges between 12-30%.

• Farrowing happens within 2-4 hours and placenta is shed within 2 hours.
• This period is critical as there is more mortality of 20-30%.
• Space allowance for farrowing pen: 40-60 sq.ft.
• Pre-partum death may be due to deficiency of iron, which can be prevented by injection of iron to the sow.
• Intrapartum death is due to anoxia (lack of oxygen) induced by lack of placental blood flow associated with uterine contraction or premature rupture of umbilical cord. This occurs mostly in aged sows.
• A well-fed sow will produce at least 10 piglets per litter and may have 2 litters each year.
• If a sow dies during farrowing, her litter can be fostered to another lactating sow.

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Housing Requirements

Proper housing is essential for pig health and productivity. Pigs require protection from extreme weather, adequate ventilation, and sufficient floor space.

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Market Pigs

• Production of pork is very economical.
• Law of diminishing returns starts to operate in later stages.
• Market pig target FCR: 2.5–3.0 (consistent with the overall FCR for pigs; values below 2.0 are biologically implausible for swine)

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Desi vs Exotic Comparison Table

Parameter	Desi	Exotic
Litter size at birth	7.5	10
Birth weight (kg)	0.91	1.4
Dressing percentage	66	68
Maturity (months)	14	8-10
Weaning weight (kg)	4.1	13.5
Weaning percentage	54	78.5

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Care

• Feed on mothers’ milk for first 6-8 weeks along with creep feed. The combination of sow’s milk and creep feed provides a complete nutritional package for the growing piglets.
• Supplementation of Iron to prevent piglet anemia is necessary. Newborn piglets are born with very limited iron reserves, and sow’s milk is naturally low in iron. Without supplementation (usually given as an iron dextran injection within the first 3 days of life), piglets can develop anaemia, characterised by pale skin and poor growth.
• Protect the piglets against extreme weather conditions, particularly during the first two months. Piglets are highly susceptible to cold stress because they have very little body fat and a high surface-area-to-body-weight ratio. Supplemental heating using infrared lamps or heated creep areas is essential in cold weather.
• Needle teeth should be clipped shortly after birth.

Needle teeth (also called wolf teeth) are eight sharp, temporary teeth present at birth. They are clipped using clean, side-cutting pliers to prevent the piglets from injuring the sow’s teats during nursing or hurting their litter mates during competition for teats. The teeth can be clipped when the pig is only 15 minutes old.

• Male piglets not selected for breeding should be castrated preferably at the age of 2-3 weeks (some sources say 3-4 weeks) which will prevent the boar odour in the cooked meat thus it enables production of quality meat. Early castration is preferred because it is less stressful for the piglet and heals more quickly. The undesirable smell in uncastrated male pork is called boar taint.

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Vices in Pigs

Behavioural vices are abnormal habits that cause injury and economic loss in pig farming:

• Tail Biting, Ear Biting, Flank Biting — common in crowded or stressed pigs.
• Snout Biting — a vice in weaned pigs; mutilation occurs when kept in darkness.
• Pen Fouling — defecation of pigs in lying and feeding area.
• Navel Sucking — piglets sucking on each other’s navels.
• Savaging — sow attacking/eating her newborn piglets, typically during the night.

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SMEDI

SMEDI stands for Still birth, Mummification, Embryonic Death, and Infertility. The primary causative agent is Porcine Parvovirus 1 (PPV1) — porcine enteroviruses were historically suspected but current evidence identifies PPV as the main pathogen causing these reproductive conditions in pigs. This is a frequently tested concept in competitive exams.

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Production Systems in India

Pig farming in India is practiced under three broad production systems:

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ICAR-NRCP Guwahati

Key mandates of ICAR-NRCP:

• Development and evaluation of indigenous and exotic pig breeds for Indian conditions
• Nutrition research for tropical pig production
• Disease surveillance and management protocols
• Technology transfer to farmers in NE India

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Major Pig Diseases

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References & Sources

1

G.C. Banerjee: A Textbook of Animal HusbandryBook

2

Wikipedia — Animal HusbandryWeb

3

ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, GuwahatiWeb

4

PMC — Porcine Parvovirus as primary SMEDI agentWeb

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Summary Cheat Sheet