Sample Showmanship Questions:
Things You Should Know

by Adam Riemer - Riemer Showpigs

1. What is your pig eating? Know the protein level and ingredients.

2. What is your pig’s rate of gain?

3. What is your pig’s date of birth?

4. What is the ear notching number? An earnotching number is your hogs “ID” number. The left ear notch is the individual number, while the right ear notch serves as the litter number.

5. What should backfat levels be? Commonly, the backfat of a market hog is usually .5 to .8 inches of backfat.  With the recent industry trend of hogs becoming deeper bodied, it is not uncommon to see hogs cut over 1 inch of backfat either.  Within the past few years, several fairs have instituted a .5 Backfat rule in a carcass show; any hog that has lower than that amount is either downgraded or disqualified. There are two ways to measure backfat: ultrasound and cuts. Ultrasound is the live way of measuring the backfat. The most exact way to measure backfat is directly from the carcass.

6. What should a loin eye be? Usually a loin eye should be at minimum 6 inches.  Some of the more heavy muscled pigs tend to carry 8-10 inch loins. The bigger the loin eye, generally the better, as this is where the pork chops come from, thus resulting in more value to the consumer. Again there are two ways of measuring the loin eye: ultrasound/scanning and carcass cuts.

7. What is the gestation period of a hog? The gestation period is when the sow is pregnant. You can either give an approximation of 114 to 118 days or 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days.

8. What is the heat cycle of a sow? A sow will come into heat every 3 weeks. Extra information: to bring a sow into heat, a drug called PG 600 is used to simulate heat cycles.

9. When are most pigs weaned? Weaning is when the mother is taken away from the baby pigs. This usually occurs at 18 to 28 days, depending on each litter.

10. Make sure you know the breeds of hogs. Pictures and descriptions of breeds are available at: www.nationalswine.com/links Know these breeds: Yorkshires, Hampshires, Berkshire. Notice how all of these breeds end in “shire.” Anything ending in shire will have straight ears. Landrace, Durocs, Spots, Poland Chinas, Chester Whites will have floppy ears.

11. What is paylean? Paylean is a feed additive made by Elanco Animal Health Company. It enhances muscle and improves rate of gain, along with carcass performance. This is a legal additive fully approved by the USDA. More information available at: www.paylean.com

12. What is the ideal market weight for hogs? These weights range greatly, however when judging I have used pigs ranging anywhere from 250-300 lbs. The more popular weight range of champion hogs today seems to be the 250-280 mark.   

13. Have hogs been cloned? Yes, boar studs have cloned boars.

14. Are pigs a ruminant or non-ruminant animal? Pigs are non-ruminant animals. Ruminant animals are any of the large group animals of cud-chewing animals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, deer, camels, etc.

15. What does the NSR stand for? The NSR stands for the National Swine Registry. This is the group that purebred hogs are registered with. Only Durocs, Hampshires, Landrace, and Yorkshires can be registered with the NSR. Chester Whites, Poland Chinas, and Spots can be registered with the CPS registry.

16. Why do some producers dock tails? Tails are docked as a preventive measure from other pigs biting on the tails. As you may notice, most show pigs don’t have their tails docked as it makes the pig look classier.

17. Why is it important for hogs to be sound on their feet and legs? When we describe soundness this is meaning how the pigs walk and carry themselves. It is important for hogs to be sound as on a typical large commercial farm, pigs are placed in very large pens with a large number of hogs. Now if you have a pig bad on its feet and legs, this hog will likely be pushed around by other hogs, likely causing injury, which will lower the rate of gain on the hog and make it less profitable for the producer. Soundness is also important in genetics, as soundness is influenced by genetics.

18. Know the cuts of meat. Refer to your swine literature books.

19. What is the carcass length on a hog (when on the carcass rail)?  30.5-33 inches.

20.  What is the typical yield on a hog?  70-78% yield. 

21. Generally speaking, how many pounds of feed does it take to put on 1 lb. of gain on a hog?  The answer is 3 lbs, however anything under 3lbs. is great, as this means the hog has a higher feed efficiency. 

22.  If your hog is not growing and is too lean, would you higher or lower the protein level?  You would want to lower the protein in the hog’s diet as this will allow the hog to convert more fat into it’s diet, while raising the protein would allow the hog to convert more leanness and would continue to burn fat and thus resulting in a likely lower rate of gain.

23.  What is a respectable rate of gain on a hog?  I typically believe a 1.9 or higher rate of gain should be everyone’s goal.  Rate of gains can range anywhere from 1.0 to 2.8 lbs. a day.  Obviously, the higher the rate of gain, the faster the pig will grow and the faster that the producer gets the hog to the end point, whether that is the show ring or sale barn.