Pigs
About Pigs
Pigs are predominantly raised for their protein. Female pigs give birth to large litters of six to twelve piglets or baby pigs. Pigs are weaned around six weeks old. Weaning is when a farmer removes milk from a young pig's diet, replacing it with solid foods such as grains.
Shoats are young pigs that have been weaned. Gilts are older female pigs who have not been bred. Gilts are mature enough to be bred around five months of age.
As pigs are raised primarily for their meat, they are given a protein rich diet of grains and soybeans. Pigs can be pastured or allowed to roam in large fields or forests. Pastured pigs are usually found on smaller farms or homesteads. Once they grow to 240-260 pounds, they are then sent to be harvested.
Fun Facts
- The Eurasian boar is an invasive species that has spread across the United States. They have now been found in thirty-eight of the fifty US states. Feral hogs that have escaped or have been released into the wild are also an ongoing invasive issue.
- Pigs are not only raised for their protein but are also raised for their foraging skills. Special pigs are trained to wallow or dig in the dirt to find extremely valuable truffle mushrooms that can bring hundreds up to thousands of dollars per pound. Although pigs have poor eyesight, they have a very powerful sense of smell as well as hearing. The trained pigs use their sense of smell to locate truffles that grow underground and dig them up.
- Through scientific research, pigs have been identified as being one of the most intelligent animals on Earth.
Dig Deeper
Use the following links to learn more about pigs, the pig industry, and pig research.
Lessons and Resources
Want to use standards-based pig focused lessons in your classroom, find more resources to take learning with pigs further, or locate texts that support core content teaching featuring pigs, these can all be found at our AITC Lesson Matrix.