HEALTH OF THE PIG

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 20 June 1931, Page 14

HEALTH OF THE PIG

HINTS FOR. BREEDERS

A healthy appetite is a matter of the very first consideration where pigs are concerned, whether from their own point of view or from that of their owner. For the pig that cannot take a keen interest in its food is a .sad pig, and -a sad /pig cannot thrive, and therefore cannot pay.. “When ;i pig goes off its feed, or seems to find a difficulty, in getting through its meal, you may be sure that there is something wrong. Probably the most common cause of a lost appetite is the pig is a digestive disorder of a minor kind, says a writer in the Live Stock Journal. Pips that are fed on swill are very apt to suffer in this way, for this material often contains an undue quantity of greasy matter, which is more likely than anything else to upset the digestive organs. The remedy against such a thing is obvious but a dose or two of salts may be needed before the appetite returns. Swill-fed pigs are always the better for an occasional dose —say, once a week, or whenever it may seem to be needed.

SIGN OF INDISPOSITION

A sudden loss of appetite may, however, portend something more serious, and when one pig out of a batch fails to come forward for its food or after taking a mouthful of two turns away, immediate notice should be taken of it. In all ailments a disinclination to feed is among the earliest of symptoms and, though it may mean nothing serious after all, it is well to be on the safe side.

A pig that behaves thus should he isolated at once in case graver symptoms should become manifest. .Even in such a case, a dose of salts may help, and will at any rate do no harm, but a close watch should he kept for any further developments, and if there is a change for the worse, is it always advisable to call in the vet.’s assistance. That puts one on the safe side, and is well worth the cost.

A common chill, which is always first shown by loss of appetite, may not be serious in itself, but may easily lead to complications unless taken in time. Warmth is of the first consideration in such a case, and if the pig will feed at all, the highest food must be given to it. A pig with a had chill will probably refuse food altogether, and, in fact, is better without it for the time being. A day or so’s fasting will do no harm, but if. when the animal should he hungry, it still will not take any ordinary food, then it must he tempted with warm gravy milk, or something equally appetising. A sick pig will often take that sort of food when, its more usual fare ceases to interest it. For the rest, nibbing the back and sides with a liniment made of mustard mixed with oil and applied warm, is the best that can be done. A pig that has had a

bad chill and recovers is always liable to another attack, and is best fattened and got rid of as soon as possible.

PIGS ON FATTENING FOODS

Pigs, such as bneoners, which are usually kept on fattening foods up to the age of six or eight months, sometimes sicken off their ration, and may •w a falling-off toward the end of their time, when it is very important to kep them going. For this reason it is always wise to ring some sort of a change in the ration now and again, piich ins five substitution ot meat .for fish meal or (vice versa. Drastic changes of a marked kind should be gradual, and spices, though useful at times, should not he regularly used. An excess of flavouring in the food is, in fact, as likely as anything to cause a jaded appetite. It is not often that pigs refuse then food because there is something actually wrong with the food itself, hut such things do occur from time to, time When a whole lot of pigs appear' to lose their keenness for thenfood all at once, it may be suspected that there is some fault in one of the ingredients. Meal stored in a damp place or kept too long before it is used is apt to turn sour, though very probably the whole of it may not be affected. Tlie same thing may happen when food is mixed too long beforehand especially in warm weather. blop should never stand more than a tew hours before it is used. AVOID OYER-FEEDING. '

Over-feeding is another cause of loss of appetite. With little pigs “little and often ’ is the golden rule, foui.oi even six meals in the 24 hours being of much greater benefit than the same quantity given in only two or three. But no sort of pig, young or old, should ever be given more food than it can clear up quickly. Better give rathel too little than two much, for it is always easy to add a little more should it appear to be needed. On the other hand, when pigs are given more than they want, there will often be some left in the bottom of the trough when the time for the nex meal come round. If this has gone sour, as it is quite likelv, then the fresh food tipped in with it, will also be spoiled and some and some of it again likely to be left. Anv food left over from a previous meal should he cleared away, and the trough cleaned out before fresh ioou is put into it. Careless feeding not only results in waste of food, but | causes a check to progress, which means waste of money as well. Eiei.i time a pig loses a day or wheneiei a pi°- is kept a day longer than it need have been, that pig is costing money which would have been better saved.