DEVELOPING THE PIG INDUSTRY

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 463, 3 July 1937, Page 6

DEVELOPING THE PIG INDUSTRY

HINTS TO FARMERS ON THE PRODUCTION OF GOOD LITTERS.

Department of Agriculture Notes by M. J. Scott, 8.A.,8.5c.

THE FEEDING OF PIGS. How to use Cheap Feed: In order to- use this specialised cheap feed> supply it is probable that slight departures have to be made I from the usual routine of pig-keep-I ing. It i< probably convenient to ! have the winter stores ready to fatten to baconers when the milk first comes in, and weaners from the spring litters ready <to use the milk somewhere in November. For pigs that are not being fattened a small allowance* of not more than one gallon per day along with as much other feed as they will eat seems to be the general practice. Where these cheap feeds (soft turnips, rape, lucerne or grass) are likely to taint or discolour carcases, they must be withdrawn, during the last three weeks prior, to slaughter. Where, milk is noti available during winter, meat-meal must be used along with roots, especially with younger pigs and sows. I Amounts of Feed Required per Day: Much has. been written about the amounts to be fed to pigs per feed or per day. On most places pigs are users of all the skim-milk, and provided they clean it up each day no one cares whether it is 20 per cent too much or 10 per cent, too little. Pigs can grow at rates varying from nothing up to three pounds per day. and from this it follows that the amount of feed given can vary over a very wide range. All animals are most accommodating in this respect,

they can over-eat for a few days and still appear satisfactory. Eating six pounds of feed per day they may be bloated, eating two lb. they may be hungry. It it possible to state how much feed is required daily only when the weight of the animal, the growth rate per day and the. kind of feed are also stated. A young growing animal can eat a maximum of 6 per cent, of his weight each day; a 501 b. pig can eat 31b.; an aged sow c'an live on a minimum of 1 per cent, of her live weight, i.e,, a sow of 4001 b. weight can live quite satisfactorily on 41b. of feed per day. There is, however, a satisfactory growth rate at which average pigs grow and keep healthy, and the feed consumed under these conditions amounts to about 4 per cent, of the pig's weight, slightly higher when young, slightly lower when old. In general it is most profitable to feed pigs in such a way that they grow as fast at they can. It has been found, however, that where pigs fatten and grow at tile same time their carcase tends to be short and, to carry too much back fat Consequently one has to strike a happy medium betweeh efficient feed conversion and suitable carcase quality. Pigs that grow at the rate ol about one land a third lb per day over the last stages of bacon weights are usually not too fat on the back, and their efficiency as converters of feed is satisfactory.