A glossary of pig terms

• Baconer - pig slaughtered at around 80kg live weight (60kg carcass weight) to produce ham or bacon.
• Boar - entire male of any age.
• Chopper - older mature culled animal used for byproducts (small goods).
• Creep feed - feed for young piglets when they are with their mother, which the sow is prevented from eating.
• Early weaning - removing sucking piglets from their mother at about 3 weeks of age.
• Farrowing - act of giving birth.
• Gilt - female pig from birth up to her first litter.
• Litter - all the piglets produced at one birth.
• Maiden sow - young sow that has not had a litter. Same as gilt.
• Porker - pig slaughtered at about 50kg (40kg carcass) for fresh meat.
• Piglet - young pig up to weaning.
• Rig - male pig with an undescended testicle. Can be fertile.
• Runt - the smallest piglet in the litter.
• Sow - female pig that has had at least one litter.
• Sucker - young piglet of any sex suckling its dam.
• Weaner - young newly weaned pig or up to about 10 weeks old.
• Weaning - the time when the piglets are removed from their dam. Varies from 3-8 weeks of age.