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TECHNOLOGY AND LIVELIHOOD EDUCATION

0 QUARTER 1- Learning Objective 3

Module 1: SELECTION AND CULLING BREEDER
STOCKS

ANIMAL PRODUCTION NC II
(SWINE)

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Technology and Livelihood Education – Grade 10
Quarter 1 – Learning Objective 3
Module 1: SELECTION AND CULLING BREEDER STOCKS

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and authors do not represent nor claim ownership over them.
Regional Director: Gilbert T. Sadsad
Assistant Regional Director: Jessie L. Amin

Development Team of the Module

Writer: ANNIE L. JACOB

Editors:

Reviewers:

Illustrator:

Layout Artist:

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 Introduction
Welcome to this self-learning
module: Selection and Culling
Breeding Stocks. In
accomplishing this learning
material, you have to take first the
pre-test, and you are tasked to
study the learning activities and
perform the various practice tasks 1, 2 and 3. After doing so, you may take
the post- test to determine the knowledge and skills you gained from this
lesson. To enhance your competence, you have also to accomplish your
assignment found in this module. Thank you and Goodluck!

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Objective: After completing the module, you should be able to…

1. Describe selection and culling in sows and gilts;

2. Select good breeder sows and gilts;
3. Identify the importance of selection and culling.

Vocabulary List
To have a better understanding of the lesson presented in this
module, you should be familiar with the following terms:

Breeding stock is a group of males and females which act as parents of

future generations.
Culling is the removal of animals which do not perform to the desired level,
from the herd.
Heritability means the likelihood of a particular trait to be transmitted to
the offspring and they are strongly inherited.
Selection is used as a tool for livestock improvement. Selection is the
process of allowing certain animals to be parents of future generations while
culling others.

Pretest:
Directions: Choose the correct letter of your answer from the given choices.
Write the answers on your answer sheet.

1. Selection is best defined as ________________.

a. the process of sorting different breeds of sow/gilt.
b. the useful determinants to improve various traits.
c. the traits that can be achieved through proper breeding management.
d. the systematic way of choosing the desired characteristics of sow/gilt for
breeding purposes.
2. Which of the following is the reason for culling?
a. Sickness c. Reproductive Failure
b. Disease d. All of the above

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3. The ability of a sow to pass good qualities to their offspring.
a. Source of animals c. High prepotency
b. Age d. High prolificacy
4. Gilts/sows selected should be free from any physical defect.
a. Source of animals c. Physical fitness
b. Age d. Health
5. Sow should come from good pedigree, good sized piglets with high
survivability.
a. Source of animals c. Physical fitness
b. Mothering Ability d. Health
6. The body should have long and strong legs.
a. Body conformation c. Physical fitness
b. Mothering Ability d. Prolificacy
7. A measurement of the amount of feed needed for a sow/gilt to gain one
pound of a body weight.
a. Feed Conversion Ratio c. Average Daily Gain
b. Prolificacy d. Adaptability
8. The average amount of a sow/gilt’s live weight increase on a daily basis.
a. Feed Conversion Ratio c. Average Daily Gain
b. Prolificacy d. Adaptability
9. Sows/gilts selected should be well adapted to the prevailing climatic
condition in the area.
a. Feed Conversion Ratio c. Average Daily Gain
b. Prolificacy d. Adaptability
10. Sow/gilt should have good FCR and ADG.
a. Age c. Level of Performance
b. Mothering Ability d. Prolificacy

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Learning Activities
Selection and Culling in Sows and Gilts

The breeding stock should pass the good qualities to their offspring for better
performance, to improve the livestock.
Selection process repeated for many generations increases chances of
formation of desirable qualities in an animal. Genetically termed as gene
frequency (occurrence of the genes that carry desirable characteristics.)
Selection increases occurrence of desirable genes and decreases occurrence
of undesirable genes.
During selection, the characteristics to be selected for are first studied closely
to ascertain that it is not influenced by the environment, but mainly by the
genetic make-up. Selection helps improve characteristics which are highly
heritable.
A character like milk yield is lowly heritable, i.e. it is weakly inherited and a
bigger percentage of the character is affected by the environment.
Factors to Consider When Selecting A Breeder Stock:
➢ Source of Animals
➢ Age
➢ Level of performance
➢ Physical Fitness
➢ Health
➢ Body Conformation
➢ Temperament or Behavior
➢ Mothering Ability
➢ Adaptability
➢ Prolificacy

SOURCES OF ANIMALS
o Purchase from reputable source
o At least 45 days or more
o Must have been vaccinated against hog cholera
o Must have been dewormed
o Assurance of feeding on conventional feeds
AGE
o Young gilts/sows, those that have not parturiated for more than 3-
times, should be selected. They have a longer productive life.
o Old gilts/sows are poor breeders and low producers. Production and
breeding efficiency decline with age.

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LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE
o Gilts/sows with highest production level selected.
o Performance best indicated by records.
o Good performance of animal indicated by;
▪ Litter size
▪ Number of parities
o Good Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) – a measurement of the amount of
feed needed for a sow/gilt to gain one pound of a body weight.
o Good Average Daily Gain (ADG) – is the average amount of a sow/gilt’s
live weight increase on a daily basis.
o Good Carcass Quality
o Good mothering ability
o High prepotency which is the ability of a sow to pass good qualities to
their offspring.
o The gilts/sows with poor performance should be culled.
o Good records kept and used by the farmer for this purpose.

PHYSICAL FITNESS
o Gilts/sows selected should be free from any physical defect e.g. mono-
eyed, limping, defective and weak backline, teats and udder should at
least 6 pairs and evenly distributed

HEALTH
o Sick sows/gilts do not breed well and are expensive to keep.
o Sows/gilts that are resistant to diseases pass these characteristics to
their offspring.

BODY CONFORMATION
o Sows/gilts for breeding to be selected according to proper body
conformation.
o Good conformation of the body: Feet, back and genital organ

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TEMPERAMENT OR BEHAVIOUR
o Sows/gilts with bad behaviors should be culled. e.g. cannibalism, egg
eating, aggressiveness, kicking

MOTHERING ABILITY
o Sows/gilts selected
should have a good
mothering ability,
o That is sows/gilts with
good natural instinct
towards their young
ones.
o This will enable them
to rear the young ones
up to weaning.

ADAPTABILITY
o Sows/gilts selected should be well adapted to the prevailing climatic
condition in the area.

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PROLIFICACY
o A Sows/gilts selected should be highly prolific.
o That is, animals with the ability to give birth to many offspring at a
time (larger litter). At least the litter size is 8-12 after weaning.
o This is a quality that should be considered when selecting pigs.
o The ancestry records assist to choose the prolific breeds for mating.

CULLING
➢ is an act of removing undesirable or unproductive animals.
When to Cull?
◼ Disease
◼ Unproductive
◼ Reproductive failure
◼ Physical Defect
◼ Age of the animal

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PRACTICE TASK 1
Directions: Identify the term being described by each of the following
sentences. Choose only the letter of your answer from the given choices in the
box and write it on your answer sheet.

a. Source of animals b. age c. level of performance

d. physical fitness e. health f. body conformation
g. Temperament or h. Mothering Ability i. Adaptability
Behavior
j. selection k. Prolificacy l. culling

1. Purchase the animal in reputable sources.

2. Those that have not parturiated for more than 3-times, should be
selected.
3. Removal of undesirable/unproductive animals.
4. Strong Legs and feet, Long Body
5. Good natural instinct towards their young ones.
6. Process of allowing certain animals to be parents of future generations
while culling others.
7. Sows/gilts with the ability to give birth to many offspring at a time
(larger litter).
8. Teats and udder should at least 6 pairs and evenly distributed
9. Sows/gilts that are resistant to diseases pass these characteristics to
their offspring.
10. The ability of having good ADG and FCR.

PRACTICE TASK 2
Directions: Discuss briefly some of the important economic traits to be
considered during selection:
1. Feed Conversion Ratio
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________
2. Prolificacy
__________________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________
________________________
3. Mothering Ability
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________
4. Carcass Quality Characteristic
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________
5. Average Daily Gain
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________

PRACTICE TASK 3
Directions: Apply the knowledge of Selecting at least one sow/gilt as initial
parent stock for the school goat project. Use the given criteria for the
selection process. Discuss your work in class.
Selection Criteria Points Score
1. Source of Animals 10%
2. Age 10%
3. Level of 10%
performance
4. Physical Fitness 10%
5. Health 10%
6. Body 10%
Conformation
7. Temperament or 10%
Behavior
8. Mothering Ability 10%
9. Adaptability 10%
10. Prolificacy 10%

Total: 100%

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Post Test
Directions: Choose the correct letter of your answer from the given choices.
Write the answers on your answer sheet.

1. Selection is best defined as ________________.

a. the process of sorting different breeds of sow/gilt.
b. the useful determinants to improve various traits.
c. the traits that can be achieved through proper breeding management.
d. the systematic way of choosing the desired characteristics of sow/gilt for
breeding purposes.
2. Which of the following is the reason for culling?
a. Sickness c. Reproductive Failure
b. Disease d. All of the above
3. The ability of a sow to pass good qualities to their offspring.
a. Source of animals c. High prepotency
b. Age d. High prolificacy
4. Gilts/sows selected should be free from any physical defect.
a. Source of animals c. Physical fitness
b. Age d. Health
5. Sow should come from good pedigree, good sized piglets with high
survivability.
a. Source of animals c. Physical fitness
b. Mothering Ability d. Health
6. The body should have long and strong legs.
a. Body conformation c. Physical fitness
b. Mothering Ability d. Prolificacy
7. A measurement of the amount of feed needed for a sow/gilt to gain one
pound of a body weight.
a. Feed Conversion Ratio c. Average Daily Gain
b. Prolificacy d. Adaptability
8. The average amount of a sow/gilt’s live weight increase on a daily basis.
a. Feed Conversion Ratio c. Average Daily Gain
b. Prolificacy d. Adaptability
9. Sows/gilts selected should be well adapted to the prevailing climatic
condition in the area.
a. Feed Conversion Ratio c. Average Daily Gain
b. Prolificacy d. Adaptability
10. Sow/gilt should have good FCR and ADG.
a. Age c. Level of Performance
b. Mothering Ability d. Prolificacy

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ASSIGNMENT
Directions: Visit a reliable breeder farm for sow/gilt and ask concerned
personnel how they do the selection process. Ask permission from the owner
to take pictures of the breeders they have. Make a report regarding the
activity and present it to the class.

REFERENCES:
https://peda.net/kenya/css/subjects/agriculture/form-3/lsab/sobs

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 ANSWER KEY
PRETEST/POST TEST
1. D 6. A
2. D 7. A
3. C 8. C
4. C 9. D
5. A 10. C

PRACTICE TASK 1
1. Sources of Animals 6. Selection
2. Age 7. Prolificacy
3. Culling 8. Physical Fitness
4. Body Conformation 9. Health
5. Mothering Ability 10. Level of Performance

PRACTICE TASK 2
1. Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) – this is the ability of a particular breed to
efficiently convert feeds into meat.
2. Prolificacy- A Sows/gilts selected should be highly prolific, that is,
animals with the ability to give birth to many offspring at a time (larger
litter). At least the litter size is 10-15 after weaning.
3. Mothering ability - Sows/gilts selected should have a good mothering
ability, that is sows/gilts with good natural instinct towards their young
ones. This will enable them to rear the young ones up to weaning.
4. Carcass quality characteristics - The ideal carcass has a minimum amount
of bone, a maximum amount of muscle and an optimum amount of fat. A
certain proportion of fat is desirable to reduce drying out of the carcass. On
the other hand, too much fat is undesirable.
5. Average Daily Gain- the average amount of a sow/gilt’s live weight
increase on a daily basis.

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