Online Pig Farming Course | Piggery Course

Improve your knowledge and skills, learn about

Pig health management
Management of sow and litter
Feeding of pigs
Breeding and selection of pigs

Learn pig management: for commercial production, self sufficiency, or a hobby.

This course is relevant to whatever production system you use. A sound foundation course to develop a broad understanding of pig biology and production; covers breeding and selection, feeding, diseases, boar management, managing the sow and litter, fattening pigs, record keeping and much more.

There are 9 lessons in this course:

Introduction
- Background to pig raising
- Pig Farming
- Pig Husbandry terms
- Hybrids in pig farming
- Pig breeds
- Pig Production systems
- Building systems
- Environmental controls
- Building materials
- Floors
- Pig pens
- Waterers and feeders
- Fencing
- Waste water treatment using reed beds
- Water flow
- Anaerobic ponds
- Suitable plants
Breeding and selection
- Heritability in pigs
- Testing pig performance
- Points for selection
- Pure breeding
- Cross breeding
- Crossbreeding systems
- Single cross
- Back crossing
- Rotational crossing
- Hybrid breeding
- Artificial insemination
- Animal selection
Feeding Pigs
- Types of rations
- Energy requirements
- Protein requirements
- Mineral requirements
- Vitamin requirements
- Digestive system
- Understanding feeding
- Feeding on pasture
Pig diseases
- General health problems
- Management practices
- Notifiable pig diseases
- Some major diseases affecting all pigs
- Diseases affecting sows
- Diseases of growing and fattening pigs
- Handling and restraining pigs
- Vices in pigs
- Summary of pig diseases
- Pre-weaning period
- Post-weaning period
- Breeder pigs
Managing the boar
- Selecting a boar
- Housing
- Feeding
- Health
- Breeding
Managing the sow and litter
- Selection of gilts
- Housing
- Feeding
- Weaning
- Ovulation
- During pregnancy
- Before farrowing
- Farrowing
- Lactation
- After farrowing
- Management of the suckling pig
- Marking Pigs and Ear Notching
- Points to consider at weaning
Management of Fattening pigs
- Feeding fatteners
- Housing
- Transporting to market
- Cuts of pig meat
Economics and records
- Efficiency factors
- Gross output
- Records
- Pig Calender
- Pig Ration
- Pig Register
- Sow Record
Managing a Piggery
- Research innovative practices
- Evaluate the production performance of a specified piggery.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

For more information get your free course information pack today!