Study Resources

Each student will be provided with full course material, access to our online classroom, live and offline classroom discussions and access to a tutor with 30 years of experience in pig farming and agricultural training.

Course Schedule/layout/format:

• Every week students will receive notifications on pre-lecture preparations in the form of readings, vocabulary quizzes, videos etc.

• The live lecture will cover that week’s topic and

• Student's understanding will be assessed through assignments, portfolios, quizzes, drag-and drop activities, worksheets etc.

• Assessments will have a marking schedule/rubric attached and

• Students will receive their results within a week after submitting their work.

This course is aimed at experienced as well as aspiring pig farmers and covers the 4 pillars of pig farming namely:

• HEALTH

• BREEDING

• FEEDING

• MANAGEMENT

US$ 175.00 | ZAR 2 625.00 | BWP 1 750.00

Course duration - 24 weeks

*You can start the course at any of the Topic dates shown below:

Topic 1: Reproduction and Breeding

Week 1 Reproduction Anatomy:

• Male & Female Reproductive System

Week 2 Reproduction Physiology & AI Basics:

• The effect of hormones on reproduction

• AI Basics

Week 3 Breeds & Breeding:

• Commonly used breeds in commercial production

• Cross breeding and hybrid vigor

Week 4 Selection & Genetics:

• Selection and culling of breeding stock

• Physical evaluation

• Genotype vs Phenotype

• Heritability of most important production traits

Topic 2: Health and Welfare

Week 5 Welfare:

• The 5 duties of care in Animal Welfare

• Optimum temperatures

• Temperature management strategies

• Minimum space requirements for different sized pigs

Week 6 Welfare:

• Housing design and layout

• Alternative (cheaper and stronger) building methods

Week 7 Health & Diseases:

• Internal & external parasites

• Signs & symptoms / treatments / prevention Fungal diseases

Week 8 Health & Diseases:

• Bacterial diseases

Week 9 Health & Diseases:

• Viral diseases

Week 10 Health & Diseases:

• Zoonotic diseases

• Metabolic disorders

• Poisoning and overdoses Routine vaccination program

Week 11 Handling & Stockmanship:

• Routine husbandry procedures

Week 12 Handling & Stockmanship:

• Low stress handling & movement of pigs Balance points, loading & transporting pigs

Week 13 Handling & Stockmanship:

• EFFLUENT – Asset or Liability? Uses and facilities / equipment needed

Topic 3: Feeds, Feeding & Nutrition

Week 14 Nutrition & Monogastric Digestive System:

• The monogastric Digestive System

• What nutrients does the body need?

• What does each nutrient do in the body?

• Where and how each nutrient is digested

Week 15 Feeds available to pig farmers:

• Conventional feed ingredients and their nutritive values

• Some alternative feed ingredients and their nutritive values

Week 16 Principles of ration balancing

• Nutritional requirements of different size/age and classes of pigs

Week 17 Principles of ration balancing

• Basic Ration balancing

Week 18 Feeding Systems:

• Ad Lib vs restrictive

• Based-on-production feeding

• “Snacking”

Week 19 Feeding Systems:

• How to reduce your feed bill and maximize profit

Topic 4: Management

Week 20 Management of the breeding herd

Gilts:

• Onset of puberty – Age vs Weight

• Heat spotting and fitting them into your existing production cycle

• Postponement of mating – advantages when mating gilts

Week 21 Management of the breeding herd

Sows:

• Optimizing the throughput through your expensive facility

Week 22 Management of the breeding herd Boars:

• Selection

• Regular use and emergency use

• Contribution to genetic improvement on your farm

Suckers:

• Giving suckling piglets the best start in life

Week 23 Weaners & grower pigs:

Finishing Pigs:

• How old are your pigs at a specific slaughter age?

• How do you compare with industry standards?

• How does this affect profitability?

Week 24 Record keeping

• Record keeping systems and interpreting collected data.

• Course review and evaluation