HOUSING OF PIGS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 June 1940, Page 9

HOUSING OF PIGS

TROUBLE SAVED BY CARE WET-WEATHER SHELTERS DESCRIBED. STEPS TO MEET WAR-TIME CONDITIONS. In view of repeated appeals to farmers for the war-time production of pork and bacon, and the possibility that Wairarapa farmers may decide to engage more fully in the growing of pigs, a bulletin prepared by the Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, on the management of pigs should prove of interest. Looking broadly at the position today, says the bulletin, it is no exaggeration to suggest that the quality of management, and not the quality of stock, is the major factor limiting profitable returns. Preventable diseases resulting from unsatisfactory housing conditions and infected soils and pastures are the cause of economic wastage. Nutritional disorders associated not only with bad feeding but also with inefficient equipment are similarly responsible for heavy loss through actual death, unthriftiness and wastage of food. No animal can be an efficient productive unit unless it is provided with living conditions enabling it to do its job, and with adequate feed. Not until the pig is. provided with such, conditions will maximum returns be obtained from pig-farming. Efficient handling of the pig is primarily bound up with the provision of suitable housing equipment. Every management factor is dependent upon this need being fulfilled. Those who are responsible for advising farmers upon their many pig problems find that shortcomings in feeding and management methods are directly traceable to inefficient equip--ment.

The pig louse is one of the external parasites which may be classed as “fortunate.” It gains its livelihood with a minimum exertion and without killing or transmitting to its host any disease. The result is the farmer is inclined to permit the louse to continue feeding on his pigs. The method of eradication is simple, cheap and effective, and consists of giving the pig a liberal coating of waste of fuel oil.

’ Where large numbers of pigs are kept, and -particularly where many pigs are brought in, the provision of a dip similar in design to the smaller type of sheep dig is an essential part of the farm equipment. The dip is partly filled with water over which is

floated a layer of oil and the pigs are swum through this mixture. A complete coating of oil ensures the destruction of all the lice. POINTS OF MANAGEMENT. Profitable pig keeping is based on turning relatively valueless foodstuffs into valuable pig meat, and the efficiency with which this can be done depends upon the management of the pig herd. Prevention of most of the troubles can largely be brought about by suitable improvements in feeding and housing. The most generally neglected phase of management is that connected with the housing and the environment of the pigs. On farms where pigs are bred, the farrowing unit and its surroundings are of major importance. The principles involved in the construction of the farrowing house demand that the sow shall be under control during the critical farrowing period; that she be subjected to a minimum of disturbance during farrowing and for the few days which follow; that the new-born piglets receive a maximum of protection from the sow and the elements; that there be a grass run-out available when the piglets are ready to take advantage of it, and that the piglets be fed separately from the sow as soon as they are ready to feed from the trough.

During recent years designs for accommodation which answers all these requirements have been freely distributed, and although these designs may

differ in detail, the following special points are common to them all. The house should be detached and accompanied by a hurdle enclosed feeding pen, having a concrete floor and giving access to a grassed run. The interior of the house should have a rail so placed that it is impossible for the sow to lie with her back against the wall. LOSSES IN FARROWING. The detached house ensures freedom from disturbances which are unavoidable when farrowing sows are surrounded by pens of other pigs. A farrowing rail serves to give a measure of protection to the piglets and helps to minimise farrowing losses. The hurdle pen provides a convenient feeding place, besides giving full control of the sow at all times. In addition, a hurdle division of the pen provides a “creep” in which the piglets can be fed without interference from the sow. The grass run gives some grazing for the sow and a measure of protection from anaemia for the piglets. For the most part the New Zealand sow leaves little to be desired from the point of view of prolificacy, but the management falls short when expressed in terms of number of pigs weaned compared with number of pigs born. The production of healthy, heavyweight weaner pigs is the completion of the first step in profitable pig production. If the management is efficient, these pigs will pass through the weaning stage without a check, and will continue making profitable daily gains which give pleasure when .expressed in terms of weight or cash. MODERN STANDARDS.

The housing for these weaned pigs also requires consideration. In order to secure the best results, a separate fattening unit is desirable. The type known as the “Danish" house is the modern standard. Its advantages include ease of feeding and cleaning, and control of the house temperature at all times of the year, thus giving maximum efficiency, from the point of view of both the feeder and the animal. The. use of this type of house is rapidly developing in New Zealand. Pigkeepers are realising the necessity for efficient equipment if the results are to be profitable. Particularly is this the case in areas where rapid changes in weather conditions are common, where soil and rainfall conditions make openair fattening impracticable, and where winter weather conditions are relatively severe.

For example, except in the drier and warmer portions of the North Island the open air or “Waikato” system of pig-keeping is rapidly giving way t r! an indoor sysem using the “Danish" house, with some New Zealand modifications. Such a house does not resemble the oldtime “sty” on stilts, which it is hoped has disappeared forever from New Zealand farms. A complete Danish fattening unit, while usually costly in initial outlay, has so many advantages that practical farmers who have ventured in this direction consider the expense one of the best investments. ALTERNATIVE TYPES.

A popular modification of the Danish house is one known as the “Neilson" house, developed by Mr E. P. Neilson supervisor of the Wellington District Pig Council. This type provides complete indoor housing except during feeding periods. Feeding takes place in an attached concrete and protected feeding pen. If. costs a little less than the “Danish." but appeals to those farmers who consider that the fattening pig needs sunshine. A cheaper form of fattening house known in the North Island as the “.Tensen" house, and in the South Island as the "Croucher" house, has much tc recommend it on the score of both efficiency and cost; but is not recommended for use where winter conditions are severe. Detailed plans and specifications for both farrowing and fattening houses and layout will bo supplied to any interested farmer on application to Canterbury Agricultural College.