Selection and Feeding Management Techniques for Breeding Boars

Speaking of pigs, I believe everyone is very familiar with them, because we all eat pork, and many people in daily life also raise some pigs, which are one of the more common domestic animals. A breeding boar is actually a male pig used to mate with sows, so do you know how breeding boars should be fed? Let's find out together below!

Feeding and Management Techniques for Breeding Boars

Breeding boars should live in a clean, dry, fresh-aired and comfortable environment, raised in individual pens, fed with feed specially formulated for breeding boars, fed 2 to 3 times a day, with a daily feeding amount of 2.3 to 3.0 kg, maintaining a breeding body condition that is neither fat nor thin, at about 70 to 80 percent of full fatness. In addition, the following work should also be done well:

1. Establish a good daily routine. Feeding, semen collection or mating, exercise, brushing and other operations should all be carried out at roughly fixed times, using conditioned reflexes to form a regular daily routine, which makes management and operation easier.

2. Strengthen the exercise of breeding boars. Except in severe weather, it is best to insist on daily exercise, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, 1.5 to 2 hours each time, covering a distance of 2 km.

3. Brushing and hoof trimming. Brush regularly every day, and in hot weather combine this with showering and rinsing, which can keep the skin clean and reduce skin diseases and external parasitic diseases; combine training with brushing to make the boar docile and easier for semen collection. Special attention should be paid to protecting the health of the limbs and hooves.

4. Regularly check semen quality. For those practicing artificial insemination, semen quality must be checked every time; for those using natural mating, it should also be checked 1 to 2 times a month. Boars with poor-quality semen must not be used for mating.

5. Prevent boars from fighting, and do a good job of heat and cold protection.

6. Use boars reasonably. Generally, it is better to collect semen (mate) at 8 to 9 months of age and when body weight reaches 100 kg. The semen collection frequency is preferably once per week for young boars and twice per week for adult boars.

Selection of Breeding Boars

1. Breed characteristics

Different breeds have different breed characteristics. The selection of breeding boars must first of all have typical breed characteristics, such as coat color, ear shape, head shape, body appearance, etc., and must meet the breeding requirements of the breed, especially for the selection of purebred boars.

2. Body structure

The overall structure of a breeding boar should be well proportioned, with the head and neck, forequarters, middle body and hindquarters naturally and well connected, giving a very sturdy impression when viewed. The head is large and wide, the neck is short and thick, the eyes are bright, the chest is wide and deep, the back is straight, the body and waist are long, the abdomen is moderate in size, the rump is wide and large, the tail root is thick, the tail tip curls and can swing freely without drooping, the four limbs are strong, the posture is upright, the hooves and toes are thick and symmetrical, with no lame hooves.

3. Sexual characteristics

Breeding boars are required to have well-developed, symmetrical testicles with clear outlines, no monorchidism, cryptorchidism or hernia, and no obvious urine accumulation in the prepuce. Sexual function should be vigorous, sexual behavior normal, and semen quality good. The lower abdominal line should be clearly distributed, the teats should be neatly arranged and well developed, with no inverted teats or supernumerary teats, and there should be more than 6-7 pairs.

How to Train Breeding Boars

1. Observation and learning. First, let the boar to be trained watch the mounting and semen collection process of a semen collection boar through a partition, so that it has a sensory understanding of this process. Before training each day, collect the urine of estrous sows, boar semen, urine, etc. and spray them on the dummy. During training, drive an estrous sow into the pen next to the training room, so that the breeding boar can smell the sow's odor and hear her sounds, inducing the breeding boar to mount the dummy.

2. Imitation and practice. After the boar to be trained has gone through a period of observation and learning (2 to 3 days), it should be formally trained to mount the dummy. Before training, spray the urine of an estrous sow or boar semen, etc. on the dummy. Place the dummy in a position against the corner of the wall, at roughly a 45-degree angle to the wall, and then guide the boar to climb on.

3. Repetition to fix the action. After the breeding boar is successfully trained for the first time, train it again every 1 to 2 days according to the method used for the first training, in order to deepen the breeding boar's recognition of the dummy. After about a week of training, the breeding boar will form a fixed conditioned reflex.

Precautions for Training Breeding Boars

1. During the training of breeding boars, the trainer must never whip the breeding boar, and should try to create a harmonious environment for semen collection, reducing adverse stimulation to the breeding boar. Training should be carried out 1 hour after the breeding boar eats or before eating, which helps keep the boar's brain clear.

2. Artificial semen collection for pigs requires a fixed semen collection room. The area of the semen collection room is generally about 9 sq m. The site should be clean, hygienic and quiet. After semen collection each day, the semen collection room and the dummy must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

3. The floor of the semen collection room should avoid being smooth. A carpet or a square-grid floor made of rubber can be laid down, and it should be kept as dry as possible to prevent the pig from slipping due to moisture and smoothness.

4. The trainer must be careful, patient and persistent, and must not be anxious for quick results. During training, the boar's reproductive organs must be protected from injury. Before artificial semen collection, check the front hairs of the boar's prepuce; if they are relatively long, cut them shorter with scissors to prevent accidentally pulling the prepuce hairs during semen collection and causing adverse effects on the boar.

The above is a summary by the editor of the feeding methods for breeding boars. I hope it can be helpful to everyone! In fact, not only is the feeding of breeding boars important, but purchasing and selecting breeding boars is also very important! Therefore, everyone must pay attention to selection when purchasing.