Piggy Jargon, UK - Piggybank Farm.

'Piggy Jargon' is an information page for all of you who are new to the world of pig keeping and need to know what on earth everybody is talking about !

Is it a boy or a girl ?

A Gilt is a female pig who has not yet had her first litter
A Sow is the name for a female pig after she has had her first litter
A Boar/Hog is a male pig.. when he's intact. When he's castrated (which brings tears to the eyes for any male readers,) he is no longer an entire Boar.

'A.I.' is not a chemical formula !It is short for Artificial Insemination

Farrowing is the name for pregnancy in pigs (which is incidentally is fondly remembered as '3 months, 3 days .. and 3 cups of coffee' !) When a pig is pregnant she is referred to as 'In Pig'. So that an 'in pig' sow would refer to a pregnant pig who has already had at least one previous litter...simple really isn't it!

A Farrowing Rail is not a torture device, it is a wooden or more often metal rail that runs along at least one side of a pigs enclosure whilst she is farrowing. As the picture shows, the rail allows the piglets to escape into a safe corner to avoid being crushed by their mother.

Changes in title.
A Weaner is a 'piglet' aged 1-6 weeks old. Most piglets are taken away from their mother (weaned) at 6 weeks.

Porkers are pigs between the weights of 60 - 75 kgs (live weight)

Cutters are pigs between the weight of 76 - 85 kg

Baconers are pigs between the weight of 86 - 104 kg.

Please note that pig titles will not necessarily give any indication of their age. A commercial pig operation will aim to 'grow' a Cutter in 13-16 weeks. Non-commercially this may take as long as 30 weeks

Their parentage.
The 'family tree' in pig parlance is called the Blood Line. As with our surname, this will identify whose 'families' the mother and father came from.

All female take their mothers bloodline (surname) and all males take their fathers bloodline (surname)

Gastronomic terms for pig keepers !
Pig nuts are the small 'dry' feed pellets made of cereals and natural additives which form the basis of many pigs diets. At Piggybank Farm, we use Additive Free pig nuts which means that they contain no artificial growth promoter.

It is worth mentioning that there are naturally occurring 'growth promoters'. Copper is one such mineral which helps the piglets to grow. However, large volumes of copper in the pig nuts can artificially accelerate weight gain.

There are also chemical growth promoters but the use of these elements is gradually being decreased. If you need further details about your own pig feed, you should contact your local supplier for a breakdown of their product.

There are many feed suppliers. You should try to find one that will deliver by the tonne to your door. This will save you alot of money when you expand your operation.

Mash this is a 'wet' feed, very similar in composition to the nuts but made up with water.

Ad Lib Feeders are the plastic or metal hoppers with doors on the front which can be filled up with 50 - 75 kg of food (or more depending upon the size of the feeder). They have the advantage that the pig regulates it's diet better and so finishes ( arrives at it's desired weight) a lot quicker.

The terms that we have described on this web page are correct to the best of our knowledge. They are certainly terms that we use on a regular basis. We hope that you will find this short glossary useful. It is really hard when you first enter the 'pig world' and you may find that by using correct terms you can avoid being taken advantage of, especially when you come to buy or sell pigs.

Best of luck !