MANAGEMENT OF SOWS AND WEANERS

Te Ao Hou, December 1958, Page 53

MANAGEMENT OF SOWS AND WEANERS Sows with litters should be fed each day 4 gallons of milk plus 2/3 gallon per pig suckled. Sows and litters should be allowed at least 2 hours' grazing per day. It is an advantage to provide water sprays for both suckling and dry sows during summer, as pigs possess very few sweat glands and can be kept cool only by the evaporation of water from the skin. Litters over 3 weeks old must have milk and meal available at all times. Observations at the Department of Agriculture's Ruakura Animal Research Station have shown that piglets suckle at intervals of 75 to 90 minutes throughout the 24 hours, and after the sixth week visit the creep after each suckling. Good creep management can add 6lb to 10lb per pig to the weaning weight. Weaned sows must be well fed to ensure successful mating. A ration of 4 to 6 gallons of milk daily plus grass is essential. Weaned pigs should be fed 1 ½ to 2 gallons of milk daily. If the milk available is not sufficient to provide this, the feeding of meal to supplement the milk ration, 1lb of meal replacing 1 gallon of milk, is highly profitable at the present prices of meal and meat.