Biology Self-Quiz 3: Answers
Quiz 3 Questions & Answers:
- Approximately when is a gilt's
first estrus? approx. 8 mos old
- What is the "boar effect?"
Close proximity to the boar causes earlier onset of puberty with some
synchronization.
- Name an advantage and a disadvantage of hand-mating.
Advantage: Allows producer to choose who mates and eliminates social
competition. Disadvantage: higher labor requirement than pen-mating, must
house required boars.
- Name an advantage and a disadvantage of AI.
Advantages: sow to boar ratio increases from 10-20 for natural cover
to 100-200 for AI, heterospermic matings are easily accomplished by mixing
semen, and producers are able to rapidly and with minimum biosecurity risk
import improved genetics. Disadvantages: Cost and need for trained personnel.
- What is pen-mating?
Breeding scheme in which the boar is placed with a group of sows (&
gilts) for servicing.
- What is limit-feeding?
Limit feeding means feeding the sow a fixed amount of food per a time
period, rather than letting her eat as much as she wants in that time.
- Why should gestating sows be limit-fed?
To increase lactational feed intake and through that, growth performance
in the sow's litter.
- When do pigs eat the most expensive
food in their lives? In the first week on the nursery. The feed
makes up 0.87% of a market hog's lifetime intake, yet it is 7.60% of the
cost.
- What environmental
condition leads to much stress and illness in nursery pigs? Improper
effective ambient temperature conditions (thermal stress)
- What are the 3 measures of growth performance? Body Tissue Gained, Feed Consumed, and Time to Market Weight
Copyright ©1997 by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary
Medicine
Faculty: Dr. Paul Pitcher
Student: Sandra Springer,'99