THE PIG INDUSTRY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4954, 11 February 1937, Page 3

THE PIG INDUSTRY.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. REARING THE LITTER. (Notes by M. J. Scot, 8.A., B.Sc.) Attention given to a litter from birth to weaning probably returns more satisfaction to the owner than is returned for care spent on pigs at any other time of their lives. The litter is the pig harvest, and as with crops, harvest is the time when hopes and fears are realised. When the harvest is abundant satisfaction results not only from material reward but also from the knowledge that effort spent was not in vain. Just as the abundance of the harvest is paramount in the profits of a farm, so the excellence of the litter is the foundation of profitable pigs. All animals at birth have a decided inclination to grow rapidly, the so-called “growth force,” and if this is destroyed by their being kept under conditions unsuitable for growth, the animal loses its ability to resist infection or to eliminate from its system poisonous by-products associated with digestion. These infections manifest in the weakly and usually blamed for their poor health and growth, are secondary in nature. They are present everywhere, but do not appear in the thrifty pig simply because he has higher powers of resistance. The thrifty weaner is thus the foundation of the profitable baconer. Feed the Litter. It is generally agreed that for the first three weeks the piglets get all their nourishment from their mother’s milk, and for this reason the three weeks’ weight has been used as a measure of sow quality, milking capacity, etc. At three to four weeks the sow appears to have reached her maximum milking capacity, but the feed requirements of the litter continues to increase daily, and feed other than their mother’s milk is necessary if the piglets are to grow as fast as nature meant them to. It is just the same with pigs as with lambs, except that the latter can collect from grass whatever feed they require to supplement their mother’s milk, whereas the owner has to supply it for the piglet. It must be realised that the piglets have to learn to eat and therefore that it is necessary to provide appetising food offered in small amounts when they are hungry until they eat it readily. Sows are often turned out during the day, and if a little skim milk and meat meal is placed before the piglets when they are being taught to eat, just before the sow comes in, they are more likely to be interested than if it is put down while the sow is present and ready to supply them. Once they have begun to eat, it does not matter so much when they are fed. Creep Feeding. The Waikato Pig Recording Club have achieved splendid results by using a creep through which the piglets get access to their feed supply, and which keeps the sow from it. The creep is easily made by spacing boards with eight inch openings between them across top and bottom, four by two’s that are nailed across the corner of the sty. The trough is put behind this in the corner, and the little pigs get through the openings. It has been found that pigs fed on the creep system average about ten pounds better at eight weeks than where no creep is provided, but where the piglets nevertheless have access to the trough along with the sow. Further, it has been found that the final weights at eight weeks are in keeping with the amount of feed used in the creep. While ten pounds of feed per piglet give 401 b weaners, fifteen pounds per piglet gives 451 b. weaners. Creep feeding is fundamentally sound because it ensures no check on the pigs at weaning, and so makes it possible to keep them going till they are twelve to fourteen weeks old. After this age, pigs that are well grown can be put on to any class of feed without serious reaction on their health, and often with splendid results from the economic point of view. Too many make the mistake of using unsuitable feeds in large quantities as soon as the pigs are weaned. Amounts of Feed. It is usually reckoned that an average sized sow wants six pounds of feed or gallons of milk per day for maintenance, and a pound of feed or a gallon of milk per piglet, while suckling the litter. While this is a useful guide it is unwise to lay down any hard and fast amounts. Successful feeding depends on the intelligent observation nad experience of the owner, and it is his obligation to feed

his animals as much as they will eat in, say, 20 minutes, and keep them looking for their meal when feeding time comes round. For the first three weeks the sow will probably take the whole twelve gallons. At five weeks she may be getting ten gallons, and the litter two gallons, and at eight weeks she may be getting eight gallons and a litter of eight another six gallons. Where sows are turned out to grass they can often get all their maintenance as pasture and, this along with two to three gallons, may suffice as weaning time approaches. Set-backs to the Litter. Up to three weeks most litters experience very little trouble unless it be from scours. This probably arises from some infection picked up in the sty, and it is most difficult to combat. Treatment of the sow is probably the most satisfactory way. A dose of salts so as to check the milk flow for 24 hours and so give the litter a mild starve is probably quite useful. Many owners have great faith in different kinds of mineral licks, especially those containing iron, since aneamia of the little pig is often blamed for babyhood upsets. One of the most noticeable happenings when a litter is let out from the sty for the first time, is the avidity with which they consume ordinary soil. Each pig must eat ounces of it in the first few hours. Investigators the world over have offered explanations of this soileating proclivity, and in view of these investigations and of the already wide adoption of the practice of putting a fresh sod of earth into the little pigs that are in sties, the Department recommends it strongly. Soil possesses valuable absorbing propert'es for some of the by-products of digestion. It contains suitably low concentrations of essential elements such as lime, phosphorus, potash, soda, magnesium, iron, chlorine, sulphur, and most soil contains those mysterious trace elements which appear to be just as essential to health as many of the better known, minerals are. Fresh soil that is free from internal parasites may satisfy the pig's desire for exploring the floor of his sty, and so reduce the possibility of picking up infection that gets into the sty by various channels. Give the little pigs clean soil in preference to dirt brought in on the sow’s udder.