SELECTION AND CULLING

SELECTION AND CULLING

• The success of pig production depends on the selection of highly
productive and efficient breeding stock.

• For a pig enterprise to be profitable, the foundation sows and boars

and their replacements should be able to produce healthy pigs with the
ability to use feed efficiently and produce pork of such quality that
will bring the highest market price at a minimum production cost.

• For this reason, a pig raiser should give due emphasis on rigid
selection of replacement gilts (breeders that are unbred) and boars
(no services yet) and practice regular removal of undesirable
animals from the breeding herd.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• The ultimate goal of every pig
producer is profit
SELECTION AND CULLING
• Selection
• The systematic way of choosing the desired characteristics of pigs
for breeding purposes is called selection

• Pigs have their own characteristics and each farmer has his own
idea of a good pig.

• What is important is that, the production and performance of the

animals partly depend on the selection of the breeders.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• Objectives of Selection

• To have pigs that produce large litter size at weaning

• To have pigs that are fast growers and highly efficient feed
converters

• To have pigs that produce best quality carcass

SELECTION AND CULLING
• Ways of Selection

• Natural selection. The best boar gets the best sows, while the
weak, sickly and poor ones usually die naturally and have lower
chances of breeding other ("survival of the fittest")

• Artificial selection. There is intervention of man on natural

selection. Man himself chooses which pig can be used for breeding
based on his own set of standards.
 SELECTION AND CULLING
• PARTS OF A PIG
• The first step in
preparation for judging pigs
consists of mastering the
language that describes and
locates the different parts
of the animal.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• Herd Improvement through Selection

• In selecting breeders, we have to consider a lot of physical and

performance attributes of the animal

• We have to study carefully the animal before choosing it for

breeding purposes since everything will start with the parent
animals.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• Herd Improvement through
Selection
SELECTION AND CULLING
• Herd Improvement through
Selection
Ideal meat type (above) vs.
common faults (below). The
successful pig judge must
know what he is looking for
and be able to recognize
and appraise both the good
points and the common
faults.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• Gilts can be selected for rapid, efficient gains, meatiness, and some physical
traits.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• By the time gilts reach 82 to 91 kg., the following standards or
traits should be examined:

• Performance
• In general, the fastest growing gilts which are from large litters
should be saved for replacement gilts.
• This requires identification at birth and a good set of records. Gilts
should be from litters of 10 to 12 pigs which demonstrate uniform
pig weights.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• By the time gilts reach 82 to 91 kg., the following standards or
traits should be examined:

• Post weaning rate of growth

• is one of the most economically important traits in pigs
• It is moderately influenced by heredity such that selection for
this trait will result to a reasonable improvement in the herd.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• By the time gilts reach 82 to 91 kg., the following standards or
traits should be examined:

• Backfat. Replacement gilts should be lean, having 18-20 mm of

backfat. The average heritability for carcass traits such as
carcass length, loin eye area, and backfat.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• By the time gilts reach 82 to 91 kg., the following standards or
traits should be examined:

• Feed efficiency
• Feed efficiency is favored indirectly by selecting fast-growing, low
backfat gilts.
• Feed efficiency is a highly desirable trait in swine.
• It is important for a pig to efficiently utilize feed to be productive.
• The lesser the amount of feed used by a pig to produce a unit gain
in weight, the more profitable it becomes.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• By the time gilts reach 82 to 91 kg., the following standards or
traits should be examined:

• Well-developed underline or mammary glands.

• Replacement gilts should possess a sufficient number of functional
teats to nurse a large litter.
• gilt should have a well-developed udder with a minimum of six pairs
of properly spaced functional teats to be able to raise a healthy
litter of desirable size.
• Females with undeveloped, blind, inverted or abnormal teats of any
form should be avoided.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• By the time gilts reach 82 to 91 kg., the following standards or
traits should be examined:

• Well-developed underline or mammary glands.

• The importance of number and quality of nipples are often
overlooked if not entirely ignored in selecting boars for the
breeding herd. It is true that udder development in boars is not as
prominent as in sows because boars do not nurse their offspring.

• However, the fact remains that the heritability of the number and
quality of teats is high and males contribute one-half of the
inheritance of any single individual.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• By the time gilts reach 82 to 91 kg., the following standards or
traits should be examined:

• Reproductive soundness
• Most anatomical defects of the reproductive system are
internal and hence not visible.
• However, gilts with small vulvas are likely to possess
infantile reproductive tracts and should not be kept.
• For the gilt, the vulva should be in the downward position for
easier expulsion of the piglet and natural mating
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• Feet and legs
• A gilt should have legs that are set wide out on the corners of
the body and the legs should be heavy boned with a slight angle
to the pasterns
• Weakness in these regions will handicap the breeding animal.
Long pasterns are weak and constitute a disqualification.
• Do not select a "rangy" pig or a pig having shallow body and
thighs, and extremely long legs. Animals with medium short feet
and short upright pasterns are preferable.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• Body conformation
• A long body is highly desirable among sows because it provides
more space for udder development and consequently, prevents
overcrowding of piglets during suckling.
• Undoubtedly, pigs with long body tend to be lean with good
grading measurements.
• The body should have a uniform width from front to rear,
although a body broader at the hindquarters than at the
shoulders is preferable.
• It should have well- sprung ribs to be deep at the barrel and
heart girth.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• Size
• Always make it a point to select the biggest animal within a
litter
• It is more economical and profitable to raise a pig which is large
for its age. You can sell it in advance
• Weight advantage at weaning and even at birth tends to prevail
up to maturity.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• Body joints
• Good development of the ham, loin and shoulder is required of a
breeding animal. This is important since these parts are the
sources of highly- priced cuts such as pork chops, ham and
bacon.
• The hams must be broad both lengthwise and crosswise, carry
fullness on the outside, and give the appearance of being
rounded.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS
• Back
• The back of the animal should be slightly arched since this is a
manifestation of a strong back which is important during
pregnancy.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS

• Fertility and prolificacy

• The age of puberty in pigs varies from four to eight months.
This rather wide range is due to difference in breeds and lines,
sex, and environment - especially nutrition.
• In general, boars do not reach puberty quite so early as gilts.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS

• Fertility and prolificacy

• Reasonably, early breeding has the advantages of establishing
regular and reliable breeding habits and reducing the cost of
the pigs at birth. Although gilts may come into heat at six
months of age, the general recommendation is to breed at the
third heat, primarily to take advantage of any increase in
ovulation rate.
• Therefore, gilts are usually bred at eight months of age and
farrow at 11 - 12 months of age.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS

• Mothering ability
• In selecting gilts, you have
to consider cannibalism
which is based on the
performance of its mother
during its reproductive life.
However, it is common
that cannibalism can
happen during the first
parity.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS

• Heritable diseases and abnormalities.

• Health is basic to other production factors. Select vigorous and hardy
pigs from a healthy litter in a herd raised under good swine sanitation.
• Do not keep gilts or boars from litters that had physical abnormalities.
• Sporadic occurrence of abnormalities in a herd involves a few or
appreciable number of animals.
• Most of the common abnormalities reported in swine are likely to be
heritable. A few have been attributed to faulty nutrition and others
to accidental developments.
• However, it is often difficult to determine the specific cause of an
abnormality especially when it happens only in a few individuals in the
herd.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS

• Animal geneticists and nutritionists claim that a defect is likely

to be hereditary if:
• There had been inbreeding;
• The frequency of its occurrence is more with certain families
than others;
• Tit occurred irrespective of season and various rations have
been fed; and
• It had been previously reported as hereditary in the same
breed.
SELECTION AND CULLING
• SELECTING GILTS

• It is attributed to nutrition if:

• The abnormality has been confirmed previously to be
due to improper nutrition;
• The occurrence is limited only in a certain
locality;
• It occurred when the ration was verified to
be deficient; and
• It disappeared after improving the nutrition.