swine

• Anestrus


  The period during which a female does not come into heat (estrus) and so will not allow herself to be bred
• Atresia ani


  A defect involving a closed rectum
• Average back-fat thickness


  The thickness of fat over the loin muscle of a live pig measured ultrasonically at the mid-back and loin, adjusted to a live weight of 90 kg
• Barrow


  A male swine, castrated (testicles removed), before it reaches sexual maturity
• Boar


  Uncastrated male swine usually kept for breeding
• Conception rate


  The percentage of females conceiving in each estrous cycle compared to the number that were bred
• Creep


  A separate area of a farrowing pen accessible only to the young, unweaned animals and not their dams. High protein, palatable feeds for the little pigs up to weaning is provided in the creep area.
• Crossbred


  A group of animals produced by interbreeding two pure but different breed of strains
• Cryptorchidism


  A defect involving the failure of one or both testicles to descend to the scrotal sac
• Dam


  Female parent, mother of an animal
• Docking


  Removal of the portion of the tail by cutting to minimize tail biting among pigs
• Dry sow


  Sow which is not milking, an unbred or unpregnant female
• Drying-off


  Ending a sow's lactation period by weaning her piglets
• Estrus (or heat)


  The period of the reproductive cycle during which the female is sexually responsive to male
• Farm or herd eficiency


  Refers to the amount of feed consumed by all animal in the herd for every unit of live animal sold
• Farrow


  To give birth to young pigs
• Farrowing


  The act of giving birth to young pigs
• Farrowing crate


  A metal stall used to confine the movement of the sow during farrowing
• Farrowing index


  Refers to the average frequency of farrowing of a sow on a yearly basis
• Farrowing or litter interval


  Refers to the period of birth of one litter to the birth of the succeeding litter
• Feed conversion efficiency (FCE)


  The amount of feed required to produce a unit of weight gain in a growing animal (feed efficiency)
• Feeder pig


  A pig that has been weaned and started on solid feed and is being fed to market weight. Generally older than 8 weeks and weighs at least 20 kg
• Finishing


  The final stage of growth of a hog prior to slaughter. A finisher pig starts the period at 50 kg and reaches a market weight of 90 kg.
• Flushing


  Increasing the daily feed intake of gilts for 14 days prior to breeding. Flushing can increase the number of eggs ovulated and therefore the number of ova fertilized.
• Gilt


  A young female swine usually kept for breeding and one that has not yet given birth
• Grade


  A domestic animal with one parent a purebred and the other an inferior breed
• Hand mating


  A mating system in which females in heat are brought individually to a boar for mating
• Heritability


  A portion of observable difference between individuals that is caused by their genetic make-up
• Heterosis


  The increased vigor and livability displayed by crossbred pigs
• Hogs


  Refers to a domestic swine of either sex especially weighing more than 50 kg
• Hog tie


  To tie together the feet of a hog
• Hybrid vigor


  Improved performance in growth rate and reproduction seen in crossbred individuals as compared to their straight bred parents
• Inbreeding


  The interbreeding of closely related individuals to preserve and fix desirable characteristics and to prevent undesirable characteristics from a stock
• Inguinal hernia


  This is a condition in females parallel to scrotal hernia in boars, involving the escape of the intestines through the inguinal rings
• Lactation


  Milk production in sows following farrowing and lasting until the piglets are weaned
• Litter


  A group of pigs belonging to one gestating; refers to the offspring at birth of a multiparous animal like swine
• Litter interval


  Refers to the period from the birth of one litter to the birth of the succeeding litter. This is sometimes referred as farrowing interval.
• Littermate


  Refers to one of the piglets in a litter in relation to the other pigs belonging to the same gestation
• Litter size


  Refers to the number of pigs farrowed or weaned form one gestation
• Litter weight


  Refers to the collective weight usually at birth and at weaning of the piglets belonging to one gestation