CEREALS FOR PIGS

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 4 November 1933, Page 7

CEREALS FOR PIGS

ADVANTAGE OF WHEAT. That pigs do well on wheat has Veen proved bv many experienced teeners and also by official experiments. Among the latter was an experiment carried out some time ago L>y Professor B. F. Fermi, at the University of Minnesota, to determine the loiative feeding values of the live cerjuis which are used in the State or Minnesota for pig-feeding. The live cereals tested were nm’ze wheat, barley, oats and :ye. Fifty pigs averaging 1061 b live weight i aeli were divided into lots of 10 and fed from dry feeders ad lib. Bach lot was fed on the one cereal only, but in addition the pigs were given f ee access to a protein supplement in another dry feeder. The protein supplement- was the same for each lot, and consisted of a mixture of two parts meat meal to one part each of linseed meal and finely .ground lucerne meal. Each lot also had free access t-o a mineral mixture.

The experiment lasted for nine w.eeks, when the heaviest of the pigs had reached 2001 b live weight. The tfood consumed for each 1001 - live weight increase was as follows: Maize lot, 360!1b. plus 631 b protein supplement; barjey lot 62011>, plus 441 b of protein: oats lot. 606!o, plus 671 b protein; rye lot, 4821 b, plus 541 b protein. In each case the grain Avas ground. At the prices then ruling the AAheatfed pigs cost over 7s per 1001 b live weight increase less than those fed on barlev and maize, in the latter case largely because of the much smaller quantity of protein supplement consumed. Professor Ferrin has pro\ r ed that coarsely-ground wheat gives better results than finely-ground.