Key Factors For Efficient Management Of
STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) We need look
back only a few years to find a swine industry that
didn’t take the finishing phase of production too se
riously. In retrospect, it’s easy to see why. The fin
isher hog seldom falls prey to lethal diseases that
affect the baby pig. It will eat and grow on just
about anything, including substandard diets. The
type of housing was simple and the pigs still
reached market weight. So, all-in-all-out produc
tion, precise feed formulation, and sophisticated
ventilation were slow to come for the finishing en
terprise.
We now recognize that the inputs and outputs of
the finisher hog exceed those of any other phase of
production with the possible exception of lactation.
Into the finisher house, we pour feed, water, and
young pigs; four months later, we have a barn full of
market hogs and manure. When things go right, the
productivity is maximized. But subtle changes in
costs, efficiency, and output can have major im
pacts on the bottom line.
Here then is a list of factors affecting the finisher
hog. Collectively they represent the difference be
tween success and failure.
Feeder Pig Health
There is no issue as important as this one. Begin
the finishing process with a healthy pig, and you
stand a good chance of success. Bring a pig into the
finisher that is suffering from PRRS, Strep Suis, or
Iletitis and it’s possible to succeed, but not without a
lot of effort.
All-In-All-Out (AIAO)
Don’t violate this concept. If your operation isn’t
set up for all-in-all-out, then get as close to it as you
can. Creating separate rooms to accommodate no
more than 3-4 weeks of production will reduce dis
ease turnover and recirculation of pathogens.
Use Pigs From a Single
Producers with AIAO systems have been able to
tolerate multiple sources of feeder pigs. Unfortu
nately, the economics of hog production no longer
permits us to simply tolerate an imperfection uke
this. If the system doesn’t provide a single source of
pigs, you should probably consider changing the
system.
Finisher Hogs
Source
Cull Early, Cull Often
There is a saying, “The first loss is the easiest one
to take.” In an ideal world, the poor-doing pigs will
,be culled from the nursery and not taken to the
grower-finisher. Unfortunately, they sometimes
show up with the rest of the load.
When they do, recognize who they are and give
them a new home as soon as possible. Left in the
barn, they drag down the overall weight gain and
feed conversion.
Worse, they can shed organisms which alter the
health of most of the remaining pigs. Most of the
culling should be completed in the first few weeks
after arrival, but this can and should be an on-going
process. Check every pig. Check every day.
Incoming Weight
Uniform and At Least
45 Pounds
Incoming weight is especially important in sys
tems that are compromised for any reason (less than
perfect health, continuous flow, marginal ventila
tion). But in every situation, pigs with heavier start
ing weights adapt sooner, grow faster, and
obviously reach market weight more quickly.
Keeping the pigs uniform also enables you to for
mulate the diet for a precise weight. This provides
an opportunity to change ihe diet frequently,
thereby maximizing performance and minimizing
the possibility of over- or under-formulating the
diet.
After sending 80 percent of the pigs to market
from your barn, take a look at what’s left. If they’re
all approaching market weight, you’ve got a suc
cessful system. But if the leftovers range in weight
from 140 to 200 pounds, you have a decision to
make, and whatever path you choose will cost
money. Send them at a light market weight and
you’ll take a weight sort penalty.
Wait for all the pigs to reach market weight and it
may take another month. Or send the pigs to an
other, cheaper barn, and finish them out there. This
eliminates eight penalities, but it adds to the cost of
production. Minimizing the number of tail-enders
should be a goal of production.
Minimizing the number of tail-enders should be a
goal of every finishing producer. Each of the man
agement strategies listed above are important steps
to reaching this goal.
Tail-Enders
(Turn to Pago 34)