Reproduction

Reproduction #

Piglet

Sooner or later, every livestock breeder faces the question of expanding his farm. The more animals you have on your account, the more products you will produce.

You can increase the number of pigs in the following ways:

  • buying animals at the pig fair;
  • purchasing piglets from a state farm nursery if animals are available;
  • your own breeding by mating sows with boars. To do this, you need a sow ready for mating. You can use your own boars or rented ones.

Buying animals is a simple task. It is much more interesting and profitable to engage in your own breeding, improving the characteristics of pigs.

Further there are details about the choice and preparation your pigs for mating, the process of mating and the birth of offspring, as well as selection.

Preconditions for mating #

To mate, you first need a suitable pair of animals: a sow and a boar, ready for mating. If you only have a sow, no problem, you can always have it with a boar rented at the boar fair.

Both the sow and the boar must meet the following requirements:

  • animals must be between 31 and 350 days old inclusive;
  • animals must weigh at least 70 kg;
  • The readiness rate for mating in each animal must be not less than 100%. You can see when it’s ready by the heart icon in the lower right corner of your animal’s image. When the entire column above the icon is filled with red and yellow, the animal is ready to mate.

Young (under 30 days old) and old (over 350 days old) animals cannot mate. However, if the pregnant sow has reached 351 days of age, she will continue to carry her offsprings. In due time, such a pig will give birth to piglets (of course, within the maximum life expectancy of the animal, which is 380 days). Please note that a sow’s pregnancy period is at least 35 days. Carry out mating taking into account these deadlines. Additionally, if you intend to mate your own sows and boars, you will need to build a pigsty of any level. Mating of two of your own animals can only be done in a pigsty. If you are going to mate your sows with rented boars, there is no need to build a pigsty.

Periods of pregnancy and rest #

After mating, your sow becomes pregnant (the term “pregnant” means that the sow is carrying piglets). A question mark icon will appear to the right of the sow image. When the bar above the icon turns green, it means your sow will farrow soon. With an optimal feed ration, the sow bears the litter for 35 days. If her feed ration is not optimal, the gestation period becomes longer.

After giving birth, your sow should rest before mating again. She will be able to mate with a boar again in 10 days.

As for the boar, he also needs rest after mating. A breeding boar only needs 10 days to regain his strength. After it, he is ready for the next mating.

The indicated periods are calculated for the case when animals receive an optimal feed ration. If the feed ration is not optimal, these periods become longer.

Number and weight of offspring #

After each mating, a sow can usually carry and give birth to 5-7 piglets.

The sex of each piglet in the litter is determined randomly, and the probability of giving birth to a boar is 5 times greater than the probability of giving birth to a sow.

The key characteristic of every newborn animal is its weight. The heavier the newborn piglet, the more weight the adult animal will have after fattening. And the more products it will bring. The total weight of all piglets in the litter depends on the weight of both parents - the boar and the sow. Therefore, it is very important to choose the right pair for mating.

Calculation of the total weight of the offspring #

The total weight of the offspring is calculated using the following formula:

\(M = (mb + ms) • K/2\)

The following variables are used in the above formula:

VariableExplanation
\(mb\)boar weight (at the time of mating);
\(ms\)weight of the sow (at the time of birth of the offspring);
\(K\)coefficient (percentage of half the sum of the parents’ weights).

The K coefficient is generally equal to 0.06 (that is, 6%). This is the value that should be used in most calculations. However, if you have a pigsty built that has been upgraded with magical solar plates, this ratio will increase. Posessing a developed pigsty allows us to produce larger piglets.

The weight of each individual piglet is affected by the value of the inbreeding coefficient. Moreover, if the weight of any piglet as a result of a high inbreeding coefficient is less than the minimum threshold (0.6 kg), then such a piglet is considered stillborn.

Calculation example #

If the boar weighed 110 kg and the sow 90 kg at the time of farrowing, then the total weight of the newborn piglets will be:

(110+90) x (0.06/2) = 6 kg

Distribution of newborn piglets #

Each clone has restrictions on the maximum number of livestock in the barnyard, depending on its social status.

Newborn piglets will belong to the same clone as the sow that gave birth to them, provided there is free space for new heads of cattle.

If the limit is exceeded including piglets, the “extra” are transferred to another clone of your account, whose social status allows to accept animals.

Such a clone will be selected according to the following rules in order of priority:

  • a clone who works as a trainer at a grunt stadium;
  • if there are no trainers, then the clone with the largest number of pigs and free places;
  • if there are no clones with pigs, then a clone with a higher social status, and if there are several of them, a random one.

If all clones have reached the limit on the number of livestock and there is no place to identify newborns, then the following will happen:

  • If a boar is born, it will be automatically transferred to the State Farm nursery in exchange for State Farm coupons. Coupons will be awarded at the rate of: 1 coupon per 1 kg of boar weight at the time of birth.
  • if a sow is born, she will be handed over to the state free of charge.

Attention. After transferring ownership to another clone, the animal will eat in the new owner’s barnyard from the first day of life. If there is a pigsty and free space in it, the animal will eat from the pigsty feeder. Make sure you have enough feed for newborn piglets. The first meal of a newborn animal occurs immediately after birth.

Pig selection #

Cloneland pig farmers have access to selective works to breede pigs with the best characteristics and continually improve them.

Inbreeding plays a significant role in selection. Breeders carefully select individuals to form more developed offspring. However, close relationships between future parents should be avoided. This may negatively affect the characteristics of all subsequent generations.

When mating animals, it is important to select sires with higher athletic characteristics and a minimum coefficient of inbreeding. The skills of the offspring born as a result of mating depend on these factors.

The sports skills of developed stud boars can be inherited by the next generation.

The characteristics of the offspring are calculated using a special formula:

\(X = 0,05 *i* (1-KI)/N\)

The following variables are used in the above formula:

VariableExplanation
\(i\)current value of the boar’s characteristics (at the time of mating);
\(KI\)inbreeding coefficient (see table below);
\(N\)number of piglets in the litter.

In addition, high performing sires pass on an increased maximum threshold of athletic skills to their offspring.

The coefficient of inbreeding during mating depends on the degree of relatedness of the parents. Scientists at the “Golden Clone” conducted extensive research and proved that the Wright-Kislovsky formula, which determines the inbreeding coefficient (the degree of closeness of relationship between two individuals), is also applicable to our pigs.

Here are some key aspects:

  • The fewer relatives the mated individuals have, the higher is the probability of increasing the maximum characteristics of the offsprings. A strong family connection can result in a lower maximum for one or more stats;
  • with inbreeding above 0%, anomalies in the birth of offspring are possible, such as a strong decrease in the maximum thresholds of some sports skills and even zero indicators of sports skills in the born offspring.

Before mating, you can study the pedigree of any pig and the values of the characteristics of ancestors up to the 4th generation.

Below is a table showing inbreeding coefficients depending on the degree of relatedness of animals:

Table. Inbreeding coefficients depending on the degree of animals relatedness

Relation degreeInbreeding coefficient (%)
Brother + Sister50
Parent + Offspring50
Grandmother/Grandfather + Grandson/Granddaughter25
Great-grandmother/great-grandfather + Great-grandson/great-granddaughter12
First cousins12
Second cousins3
Kinship in earlier generations0