Trivia / Facts

Pig Basics 101

Here are a few terms you need to know to get around a pig barn:

Sow:

Adult female pig (“sow rhymes with “cow”)

Farrow:

When a pig gives birth

Dry Sow:

A female pig that is pregnant and not producing milk

Gilt:

Female pig who hasn’t farrowed

Piglet:

Newborn pig, weighs 1-2 kilograms

Litter:

Group of piglets all nursing the same sow

Runt:

Smallest piglet in the litter

Boar:

Adult male pig kept for breeding purposes

Barrow:

Male pig that has been neutered or castrated

Feeder pig:

Piglet after it’s weaned from the sow, also known as “weaner” pig

Market hog:

Barrow or gilt raised for meat, weighs 25-110 kg

Pork or Hog Producer:

A farmer or person that raises pigs for food

Trivia

1)Do you know the origin of the term “Ham actor”?

A ham was a term given to an actor of low grade around 1875. The term is derived from the used of ham fat, which actors used instead of cold cream to remove makeup.

2)Do you know who uses more water in a day, you or a market weight pig?

You do! The pigs in the grower-finisher area use about 8.5 L daily. You will use that much just to brush your teeth! Flush the toilet twice and you have used about 9 to 11 L of water.

3)Do you know how many diseases you could have on your body that could affect the pigs?

Your skin is a great host for these organisms/diseases: E. coli, staphylococcus sp., influenza, bordetella, ring worm, foot and mouth disease.

4)Has your mom ever looked at your messy room and said “This is a pig pen”? Is a pigpen really dirty?

Real pigs actually like to keep clean. In fact, the pig divides its pen into sleeping, feeding and defecating areas (pooping and urinating).

5)Do you know what fraction of pig manure is water? 1/5, 1/2 , 3/4, 9/10?

Over 9/10 of the manure is water. Only 4 to 5% is solid material which includes nitrogen, phosphorus and other organic materials for fertilizing crops.

6)How many different uses of the word hog can you think of?

A piece of lead used in a ship’s ballast is called a hog

One of the smaller moulds used for casting iron is called a hog

A curling rock that is not thrown far enough to get over the hog line, is called a hog

A pig raised for meat is called a hog

A broom for scraping the underside of a ship is called a hog

A Harley Davidson motorcycle is called a hog

A large railway locomotive is called a hog

In Britain, a sixpenny coin is called a hog

7)When it’s hot do you sweat like a pig?

Pigs don’t sweat. Watch for the water sprinklers in the grower-finisher rooms that help to keep pigs cool.

8)Do you know the origin of the saying “To go whole hog”?

In the 18th century, the English shilling was called a “hog”. Thus, a person willing to spend an entire shilling on the entertainment of a friend, was willing “to go whole hog”.

9)Do you know the origin of the saying “Bringing home the bacon”?

It was once the practice of fairs to grease a pig and let it loose among a number of blindfolded contestants. The man who successfully caught the pig could keep it and so, of course, “bring home the bacon”.

10)Do you know the origin of the saying “Living high on the hog”?

This saying originated among enlisted army men who received shoulder cuts of pork while the officers received the better top loin cuts, located "higher on the hog carcass."

11)How loud can a pig squeal?

Pigs can reach 110 decibels, about the same as a Boeing 747 jet at take-off.

Pigtionary:

1)What is a newborn pig called?

A newborn pig is called a piglet

2)What is it called after it leaves its mother?

A three week old pig is called a weaner because it is weaned from its mother.

3)What is a mother pig called?

A female that has given birth is a sow.

4)What is she called before she’s a mother?

A female that has not given birth is a gilt.

5)What is a male pig used for breeding called?

A breeding male is a boar.

6)What is a neutered male called?

A neutered male is called a barrow.