Swine Biology Overview
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Inflexible Parameters |
The biology of swine
growth and development imposes constraints on herd management, facilities
design, and productivity. The boundaries of some biological parameters
are relatively inflexible, but for others, the boundaries are highly influenced
by genetics or the environment.
Swine production is usually compartmentalized into two phases: Breeding (Reproduction) and Growing. This division arises because the inputs to these two phases are quite different from one another. A major reason for the compartmentalization is the need to segregate young animals from older for disease control. Productivity of the herd is governed by biological limits, which are often unattainable ideals. Instead, Production Targets are established for the herd and Action Levels are chosen as points of intervention. If herd performance declines to the extent that an action level is reached, the herd manager takes action to improve performance. Swine biology may be thought of as a flowing, cyclical
process (as illustrated below.) You may return to this biomap at
any time by pressing the |
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Management |
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Flexible Parameters |
button.
Copyright ©1997 by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary
Medicine
Faculty: Dr. Paul Pitcher
Student: Sandra Springer,'99