Ask the Hog Farmer Part Deux

[Mudflap]

<FONT COLOR="Orange">If at this point, your response is "wtf?", go read part one here. (http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000705.html) <---click!

If any of our newer (or older for that matter) Tribals have any unaXed queXtions, post them here. I am at your service.

I'm trying to help Skalie launch this new kick ass forum. What he says, goes. If he says so, this thread goes, as I may have jumped the gun.

Starting your own thread based on whatever area(s) of expertise you possess is highly encouraged.

You've got answers. I've got questions. Open your brain to me and everyone else. http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/biggrin.gif</FONT c>

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<FONT COLOR="orange">Even the losers...
Get lucky sometimes.</FONT c>

[This message has been edited by Mudflap (edited 06-16-2001).]

[skalie]

I'm going flex my newborn mod powers and move your "part une" thread, two reasons, one to fatten out this forum a little and secondly it's a great read.

[Koliedrus]

I've been curious about the automation you described, Mudflap. How different is your job from someone 20 years past?

PS: Pork = good http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/smile.gif

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Oyster-brain in a cookie jar.

[Mudflap]

<BLOCKQUOTE><HR>Originally posted by Koliedrus:
I've been curious about the automation you described, Mudflap. How different is your job from someone 20 years past?

PS: Pork = good http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/smile.gif

[/quote]

<FONT COLOR="Orange">Automation, eh? Let's see.....

Feed:

We still feed some of the critters by hand, but the majority of them have their feed mechanically delievered to individual feed boxes, set to deliever an amount of feed to each individual according to their need. When it's feeding time, you pull some levers and the feed drops in front of them and they "pig out."

Water:

They are watered in either concrete troughs or via water nipples. For the troughs, an electronic timer runs water in front of them at different times during the day. Water nipples are just that, they put their mouths on them and drink as much as they want.

Enviornment:

The barns are curtain sided. The side curtains rise and lower according to inside temperature, using a simple thermostat. Hogs are most comfortable at a temperature of 68 degrees Farenheight. During cooler months, the side curtains do an excellent job of maintaining this temperature. During summer months, when the outside temperature is well above 68 degrees, we have to get a bit more creative to keep those suckers cool.

Cooling systems:

Hogs only have sweat glands on their noses. That's why the barnyard variety is notorious for wallowing in mud. The mud keeps them cool and also acts as a sunscreen. MY hogs don't have access to mud, so we use fans and misters, also controlled by thermostats. When the inside temperature reaches approximately 78 degrees, misters hung from the celings will spray a fine mist of water over their backs. The misters are set to run one minute out of every ten. Keeping the hogs soaking wet continuously defeats the purpose of evaporative cooling. The water must be given a chance to evaporate to remove excess heat from the animals. When the temperature reaches approximately 80 degrees, a series of 24 inch fans come on, blowing air across the hog's backs. This also aids in evaporative cooling. When the fans and misters are running simultaneously, a fine mist of water is blowing all over the place. It makes it hard to see thru my glasses, but the hogs sure love it.

Baby pigs require warmer temperatures compared to the adults, so we provide them supplemental heat via heat lamps. They turn on and off automatically according to temperature.

Boar-Bot:

Our boars are trained to walk on a leash. We walk boars in front of open (non-pregnant) sows to stimulate, identify, and confirm estrus (heat). We also walk boars in front of sows that are in estrus, while they are being artificially inseminated. We use a machine called a boar-bot to walk the boars. It is remote controlled and allows the user to have control over the boar without having to be in direct contact with his leash. It frees him/her up for various other tasks. It looks alot like one of those boxy little droids from Star Wars, yet it is plenty powerful enough to keep a 600 + pound boar where you want him.

That's a basic overview of the automation utilized on MY farm. There are other technologies out there and they are all pretty cool, IMHO.</FONT c>

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<FONT COLOR="orange">Even the losers...
Get lucky sometimes.</FONT c>

[skalie]

Can you link us to a photo of a boar bot?

[Mudflap]

<IMG SRC="http://www.secrepro.com/Gif/robot-verrat-plan.gif" border=0>


<IMG SRC="http://www.secrepro.com/Gif/boar-bot.gif" border=0>


<IMG SRC="http://www.agjournal.com/images/boarbot.jpg" border=0>



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<FONT COLOR="orange">Even the losers...
Get lucky sometimes.</FONT c>

[Faceplant]

do you ever take your work home with you?

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<IMG SRC="http://ftp.scbbs.com/files/importD5.gif" border=0>
Ass, gas, or grass...no free rides.

[Mudflap]

<FONT COLOR="Orange">Well, I take training manuals home and study them. Does that count?</FONT c>

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<FONT COLOR="orange">Even the losers...
Get lucky sometimes.</FONT c>

[MAC]

Training manuals?
Boar Bot?

This is toooooooo much.

How do you sleep at night captain picard?
Can you beam the pigs up?

Seriously this is too much.

How do you deal with the castration? Lasers?



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Don't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding.

<IMG SRC="http://www.tyler.net/roguewarrior/images/macsnake.jpg" border=0>

[Mudflap]

<BLOCKQUOTE><HR>Originally posted by theMAC:
Training manuals?
Boar Bot?

This is toooooooo much.

How do you sleep at night captain picard?
Can you beam the pigs up?

Seriously this is too much.

How do you deal with the castration? Lasers?

[/quote]

<FONT COLOR="Orange">Whatever you are trying to say here is unclear to me, but I feel a slight hint of irritation forming in the back of my brain.</FONT c>

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<FONT COLOR="orange">Even the losers...
Get lucky sometimes.</FONT c>

[Faceplant]

<BLOCKQUOTE><HR>Originally posted by theMAC:


How do you deal with the castration?


[/quote]

his teeth.

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<IMG SRC="http://ftp.scbbs.com/files/importD5.gif" border=0>
Ass, gas, or grass...no free rides.

[Skeet]

How old are the hogs, before you, you know. Send em off..?

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Chicken!¿?

[Mudflap]

<BLOCKQUOTE><HR>Originally posted by Skeet:
How old are the hogs, before you, you know. Send em off..?

[/quote]

<FONT COLOR="Orange">If I remember correctly, I answered this question from Skeet via irc. As a lame excuse to top this thread, I'll now answer it here.

From birth to market, approximately 25 to 30 weeks of age, depending on genetics, environments, and health.</FONT c>

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Let's do this thing! (http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002257.html)

[River Rat]

How long can a hog live?

How long into their lifespan do you breed them?

Do you have a breeding itinerary for the hogs to improve their genes, mass, immune system etc.. ?

How many piglets at one time does a sow have?


That is all for now thanks.

I shall do my part to keep you employed by maintaining my voracious appetite for pork products http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/biggrin.gif




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jesus loves me but he loves in vain on my pagan heart he lays no claim.

[Mudflap]

<BLOCKQUOTE><HR>Originally posted by River Rat:
How long can a hog live?

<FONT COLOR="orange">About 8 to 10 years.</FONT c>

How long into their lifespan do you breed them?

<FONT COLOR="orange">Sexual maturity occurs around 25 to 30 weeks of age. They aren't fully grown at that point, but they are ready to breed.</FONT c>

Do you have a breeding itinerary for the hogs to improve their genes, mass, immune system etc.. ?

<FONT COLOR="orange">Oh yeah, but I'm not directly involved in those activities. I work on the comercial end of production -- producing pigs for market.</FONT c>

How many piglets at one time does a sow have?

<FONT COLOR="orange">Average pigs per sow is around 9 to 11 pigs. It frequently varies from 6 to 14. I have seen a sow farrow as many as 18 pigs in one litter.</FONT c>


That is all for now thanks.

I shall do my part to keep you employed by maintaining my voracious appetite for pork products http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/biggrin.gif

<FONT COLOR="orange">Thank you!</FONT c>


[/quote]



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Let's do this thing! (http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002257.html)

[skalie]

I heard on the radio about ten years ago that they were thinking of breeding sightless pigs, the idea being that they would eat more not getting distracted by, well anything visual.

Ever heard anything along those lines?

[Mudflap]

<FONT COLOR="Orange">No Skalie, I haven't heard about that one.

I have raised a few blind pigs and they do generally well until it is time to be transported to another facility or to be processed. Because they can't see where they are going, they are not willing to walk to the truck. I'd hate to have to move 850 blind pigs 25 to 100 yards to a load out chute.

Link me if you come across anything of this sort.</FONT c>

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Let's do this thing! (http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002257.html)

[skalie]

<BLOCKQUOTE><HR>Originally posted by Mudflap:
<FONT COLOR="Orange">Link me if you come across anything of this sort.</FONT c>
[/quote]

It's seems they've been crossing them with jellyfish. (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_420888.html)


Pig experiment may trim transplant waiting lists

A litter of pigs could pave the way for transplants from one species to another.

The transgenic pigs were genetically engineered to order.

They were given jellyfish genes and ended up with yellow hooves and snouts.

Xenotransplantation, the transplanting of an organ from one species to another, may be a way of saving thousands of lives every year.

The pig research was carried out at by Randy Prather, a professor of animal science at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

He said: "They're transgenic, which means they have genetic material from another species.

"In this case, it's a fluorescent gene from a jellyfish. We use this gene because it provides us with a visual marker that proves the pigs are indeed transgenic."

His team used a cloning process called nuclear transfer - inserting genetic material from the jellyfish into pig cells growing in the laboratory.

Then, they took nuclei from these cells and inserted them into mature eggs that contained no chromosomes and inserted them into a surrogate mother.

The work, to be published in the journal Animal Biotechnology, is seen as crucial in the production of 'ideal' replacement organs which won't be rejected by the human immune system.

[Mudflap]

<FONT COLOR="Orange">Ah yes. I briefly commented on those applications in the </FONT c> other (http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000705.html) <FONT COLOR="orange">thread. Who closed it, btw?</FONT c>

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Let's do this thing! (http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002257.html)

[skalie]

<BLOCKQUOTE><HR>Originally posted by Mudflap:
<FONT COLOR="Orange">Ah yes. I briefly commented on those applications in the </FONT c> other (http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000705.html) <FONT COLOR="orange">thread. Who closed it, btw?</FONT c>

[/quote]

I had to close it when I moved it over here (http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000021.html) to fatten out the forum in the beginning.

I explained it here, but not there, oops.

[Mudflap]

<FONT COLOR="Orange">Oh.</FONT c>

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Let's do this thing! (http://www.thehypertribe.net/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002257.html)

[Billyman]

Just how is business for the hog market at present? And would you happen to know if the maintenance guys got there union or not?

[Mudflap]

Currently, market prices are slightly above break even. A couple of months ago, they were well below. Forecast for the next few months is a lean market. The freezers are full and prices will be going down. That won't affect retail prices, mind you.

It was the company truck drivers voting on the union. It got voted down. I don't know by what margin, but I'm sure it was pretty slim. Most of the truck drivers I talked to were very disgruntled and wanted the union. Then again, I only talked to a half dozen or so.