ABSTRACT
Swine grow rapidly and produce large numbers of offspring. Intensive management systems are designed to allow swine to reach their full biological potential in terms of fecundity and growth. The primary management strategy upon which these systems are based is for humans to provide for the specialized needs of pigs during each stage of their reproductive and growth cycles. For most systems, there is a reproductive component that involves management of sows during breeding, gestation, and lactation and a growth component for market animals that usually is divided into nursery and finishing phases based on the physiological maturity of the pig (Fig. 1).
