Page 129 - Agriculture Form Two

Agriculture for Secondary Schools

Activity 7.7
1. Visit your school farm/family farm or nearby pig farms and study on
factors affecting the performance of growing pigs;

2. Suggest management measures to the factors affecting the performance of
FOR ONLINE READING ONLY
the farms you have visited.
3. Record your observation in your portfolio.

Management of pregnant sows

For the sow to produce many viable and strong piglets, caring for the sow should
start before mating (during flushing). Flushing put the sow’s body in good
condition, allowing the sow to farrow large litters of heavy piglets. Flushing
should be practised one week before Mating (meeting a boar).
During pregnancy, feed a sow with 2 -2.5 kg of feed per day and increase the
amount to 3 kg during the last three weeks of pregnancy.

Parturition
The action of giving birth in pigs is called farrowing. Care must be taken during
the farrowing to avoid the piglet’s death if anything goes wrong. The following
preparations must be done before and during farrowing:

Preparation of the farrowing pen

The farrowing pen should have the following facilities:
(a) Guard rails or farrowing crates: The guard rails protect piglets from being
crushed by their mother when it is laying. If a farrowing crate is provided
instead, it confirms the sow from moving and turning around and crushing
the piglets.
(b) An artificial source of heat (artificial heating device) for the piglets
should be placed/installed in the pen if heat does drop below 20 C.
0
(c) Creep feed: Creep feed must be provided in the farrowing crate in the pen
for the piglets to access.
(d) Bedding materials: Provide bedding materials on the pen floor, such as
straws, husks, hay sawdust, or dry banana leaves.

Remove the sow from the herd four days before farrowing, wash it thoroughly
with disinfectants, and move it to the farrowing pen.

Student’s Book Form Two 121

04/10/2024 18:07
Agriculture form 2.indd 121
Agriculture form 2.indd 121 04/10/2024 18:07