FEEDING OF PIGS

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20284, 28 August 1937, Page 26 (Supplement)

FEEDING OF PIGS

MINERALS OR VITAMINS. VALUE OF LUCERNE. One of the most striking happenings associated with pig feeding is the wonderfully sleek appearance of pigs that are being fed on lucerne, writes Mr M. J. Scott. Whatever their age or state, after weaning, pigs that receive lucerne, green or as chaffed hay, are always sleek and healthy, provided of course, that lucerne is not their sole feed.

contained in it, or in the vitamins, or Whether its value lies in the minerals the protein value we will never know, because of the difficulty in separating these things, but the fact remains that lucerne puts a shine on the coat not excelled by any other class of feed-stuff. Next to lucerne, ordinary green pasture, provided it is young, keeps pigs quite healthy, and although not so universally excellent as lucerne, nevertheless is quite valuable. Next, the oil bearing feeds such as linseed cake, oats and meat-meal fed in small amounts make pigs healthy-looking, and here again it is impossible to fasten with any assurance on the ingredient that is most useful. Pigs fed on offal—boiled meat scrap—are always remarkably healthy, and one is almost forced to the conclusion that animal fat is most beneficial. Finally there is the well-known benefits that so many have obtained from using mineral mixtures such as wood ashes, charcoal, slack coal, licks of various kinds containing salt or sulphur or iron or iodine or lime and phosphates. It seems impossible to make any authoritative statement on the question of minerals. The question was investigated by Sheehy in Northern Ireland some time ago and over a period of five years after trying every kind of mineral mixture he found that salt and limestone, 1 part to 4 parts, used at the rate of 3 per cent, of the dry weight of feed was the most useful mineral. A pig of 100 lb. weight, eating four pounds of feed or its equivalent, would want daily about l£oz. of minerals. A useful way to feed minerals is to have the supply handy and with a known measure, such as a baking-powder or other tin, put the calculated amount in the trough daily. It sounds very complicated, but it can be done quite easily if it is worth while. Attention to Detail. From what has been said it is apparent that in spite of the supposed advisability of knowing how much a pig should receive per day and how much protein, fat, carbohydrate and minerals there is in his ration, it is seldom that the good results obtained by a feeder can be ascribed to this knowledge. More usually success is associated with attention to some or all of the following details:—(l) Feed 'regularly as to time and amount; (2) feed just as much as the pigs will clean up; (3) don’t leave stale food in troughs. Movable troughs can be profitably turned over, fixed ones could profitably have a hinged lid that keeps the trough clean; (4) if pigs fail to thrive after attention has been given to these points then the quality of the feed supply is at fault or the pigs are unhealthy. It always pays to correct the trouble and the improvement of the feed supply is either a matter of adding green grass to the ration or half a pound of any grain or one-quarter to half a pound of meat-meal; or perhaps an ounce , of lime and .salt mixture. Experience usually decides which of these gives results.

It is rarely that the feed supply itself is of such a quality that it can be blamed for poor pigs. On any place where pigs are kept there may be a dozen healthy pigs for every sick one. It is a fair assumption that the sick one is the result of some chill or setback such as we humans experience from time to time, and that the dozen healthy ones are a striking advertisement for the excellent quality of the feed supply. This is generally correct for those months of the year when skim-milk is the chief source of feed supply. When skim-milk is in short-eupply it often happens that most of the pigs go to the pack either because they have too little feed or else because the quality of their feed is blow standard. The feeds in use are usually home-grown, varying from grass through any kind of fodder crop to roots of all descriptions, plus at times a little grain. There is one addition, viz., meat-meal, that can be made to every feed supply (skim-milk included) that will always bring feed quality up to a standard that enables pigs to thrive.