PIG PRODUCTION COSTS

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20494, 10 May 1938, Page 18 (Supplement)

PIG PRODUCTION COSTS

University’s Bulletin THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT FEEDING In a Bulletin Issued by Cambridge University Department of Agriculture, attention is called to the principal lines along which cheaper production may be achieved in pig keeping. The production of a pig, it is pointed out, covers a period of some 10-12 months between the service of the sow and the slaughter of fhc pig at bacon weight. The period may be divided into three phases, in the first of which the pig is still unborn, in the second its food is derived from the mother’s milk, and finally it is dependent on'some form of a predominantly cereal ration. The final cost of the bacon pig will depend on the feeding and management in each of these periods, i.e., on the combined effect of a large number of comparatively simple acts, the failure to perform any one of which may exert considerable influence on the final profit. For instance, the costs will be influenced by the amount of meal consumed per lb. of live weight gain, by the cost of food per ton. by the numbers of pigs reared per litter, by the frequency with which each sow farrows, by the size and lay-out of the producing unit, and by housing. In turn these main factors are each affected by a group of secondary factors. The rate of meal consumption, for example, will be influenced by the suitability of the ration, by the method in which it is fed. and by the waste incurred in feeding. In the same way the effect of housing on growth rate and disease control depends on whether the accommodation is damp or dry, draughty or draught-free, well or ill-ventilated, or provided with sufficient trough space. GOOD AND BAD LITTERS In the absence of records pig producers often over-estimate the number of pigs which will be produced in the year. They may reckon on rearing eight pigs per litter and getting two litters from each sow annually, but in actual fact the number of pigs reared per sow per year is probably nearer 12 than 16. The number in these tests carried out at Cambridge were probably better than average, and yet only 13 pigs were weaned from sows in the year. And, what is really most important, less than 13 pigs were finally marketed from each sow in the year. Whereas an average of 10 pigs was born alive rather less than 8 survived until weaning, although the number of pigs weaned per litter varied from as low as 51 in some herds to as high as 101 in others. The annual cost of keeping a sow is much the same whether she rears a large or a small litter, and it was shown that by speeding up the rate of farrowing and by lowering pre-weaning and post-weaning mortality that as much as 10s. per weaner could be saved. Pre-weaning losses were mainly due to overlying by the sow, and the precautionary measures suggested were—the use of farrowing rails, the provision of short straw for bedding and help at farrowing time. Good weaning weights might be obtained by careful management of the sow before and after farrowing, by providing the little pigs with a creep feed, and by general warmth and comfort. Losses from pneumonia, colds, scour and “bad doers” might be lowered by better housing conditions. IMPORTANCE OF HOUSING Pig houses must be warm, well ventilated, free from damp, draught and disease. They should be neither too cold in winter nor too hot in summer and should be protected from east winds. Except for outside walls concrete should be used as sparingly as possible in their construction and if used as a' floor should have a good foundation of coke breeze or brick rubble. Thatched roofs are excellent as they maintain an even temperature throughout the year. Corrugated iron is less satisfactory as it is cold in winter and moisture is apt to condense on the inside of the sheets and to drip down on the pigs and their bedding. If used for roofing, therefore, it should be lined inside with a fibre preparation or with weather boarding.