This article will explain key phrases often found in the pig industry that may not be common knowledge. The domestic pig, sus scrofa domesticus, is farmed globally and at a very prolific rate. Part one will define the physiological and breeding terms, while part two will focus on defining the industry and general terms.

Physiological terms

Barrow: A young male pig, castrated before puberty.
Boar: An uncastrated male pig over the age of 6 months.
Culled sow or boar: A pig that has been removed from the breeding herd.
Gilt: A young female pig, usually under 6 months of age, that has not yet given birth.
Sow: An adult female pig that has mated and given birth.
Stag: An adult male pig, castrated later in life – “old boar”.
Weaner pig: A pig that has recently been weaned, usually at 8 weeks of age, or under 20kg of live weight.

Breeding terms

Boar effect: The effect of exposing young female pigs to male pigs in which early puberty is stimulated.
Breeding herd: A herd with the specific purpose of breeding.
Conception rate: A percentage-based value of the number of sows that conceive compared to the number of services they underwent.
Dystocia: Birthing problems experienced by the pregnant pig, characterised by difficulties during labour or abnormal birth of the piglet.
Estrus: The state of being in heat for a female pig.
Farrowing: The process of giving birth to piglets.
Litter: The number of piglets born to a sow during one farrowing.
Gestation: The “pregnancy” period, from fertilization until birth.
Hand mating: Mating that takes place in a smaller and enclosed space.
Herd size: The total number of sows within a particular herd.
Non-productive sow days: The period in which a sow is not suckling piglets or carrying a litter.
Parturition: The period in which a sow farrows, starting with the first signs of labour until birth.
Parity: The number of litters that a sow has carried/given birth to.
Pen mating: Mating that takes place in a pig pen, several female pigs in estrus are exposed to a boar for the purpose of mating.
Polyestrous: Female mammals that are able to undergo multiple estrus cycles in a single year.
Standing heat: The period during a gilt or sow’s estrus in which she assumes a stance to be mated.

Click here to read part two.