THE PIG INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 197, 21 July 1937, Page 4

THE PIG INDUSTRY.

(NOTES BY M. J. SCOTT, 8.A., B.Sc.) THE FEEDING OF PIGS. Feeding with limited quantities of skimmilk.—The rate of growth, and the amounts of food set out in the last table are just about the maxima that average pigs are capable of. There are times when the feed supply is limited and the growth rate correspondingly small. . It often happens that the growth rate is so slow that interest in the pigs is lost and (bey become neglected. That s the dangerous time; everything seems to go wrong. In the following table are set out the rates of growth associated with a long 9tO)‘fe period, half a pound a day from 14 weeks to 28 weeks, about three-quarters of a pound per day for a further three months-until a wqight of 1701 bis attained, and then about 301 bin 20 days of fimshmg DAILY RATIONS FOR PIGS - SLOW GROWTH.

This rate of growth can be obtained by using the pounds of grain or gallons of milk stated from weaning till 14 weeks old, gradually changing then to . half a pound °f meat-meal, or one gallon of milk, plii9 all the cheap feed the pigs will eaf, viz., grass, roots, potatoes, artichokes, marrows, etc.

When tho pigs are 701 b alive, they will have to eat jib of meat-meal and 151 b of roots per day in order to get 2ilb of feed. At 1101 b alive they will want jib of meatmeal and 2l!b of roots. At 1701 b. jib of meat-meal and 291 b of roots.. During the last three weeks thq use of roots is discontinued. and the pigs will Cat from 5Rb up to more tlian,6Bb of xrain or gallons of milk per day. * ECONOMY OF FEED CONVERSION. Where tiie pigs grow rapidlv the total feed consumption is about 5801 b per pig. It. is all high quality feed supply. Where the pig.S grow slowly the total feed consumption is about 8651 b per pig.. Of this only 3251 b is high quality feed. The remaining 5401 b is obtained from, say, ,1J tons of mangels. All sorts' of furthorcal- - dilations can be dono by those who have followed so far. and the results all point to the advantages of using these cheap feeds. . , At finishing these pigs are about 43 weeks old, and if this takes place in the flush of the milk season, in, say, November and December, the pigs should have been farrowed in January and February. These fattening baeoners should just be finished when the next litter is just out of its babyhood, and it could be taken rapidly to bacon at SbOut six to seven months old.

The fact that Hawke's Bay was the second on the list of provinces for the export of wool was favourably commented upon at a meeting of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce by the chairman, Mr Hugh W. C. Baird. “It is indeed 1 a marvellous district,” said Mr F. E. Smith. To obtain icnie Idea of what the countryside was like, one should go to the top of the hills and view the plains from that altitude. “I suppose that on the country for 30 miles around To Mata Peak it is possible to carry, on the average, three sheep to the acre,” he added.

£ Lb. feed daily for To >~> 'tk ‘g | g 8 0 > ‘“jj > 0 l-j HH (per c Main! O £ Total 1 6.0 0.5 1 2 9.5 0.5 ) Mother’s milk Only. 3 12.3 0.4 ) 4 15.3 0.5 1.20 5 20.0 0.6 .90 .30 6 24.9 0.7 1.00 .46 1.40 7 29.3 0.7 1.20 .46 1.66 8 • 35.4 0.8 1.25 .48 1.73 9 40.3 0.7 1.28 .42 1.70 10 44.5 0.6 1.35 .36 1.71 11 48.7 0.6 1.45 .36 1.81 12 52.9 0.6 1.56 .36 1.92 13 56.1 0.6 ' 1.80 .36 2.16 14 60.3 0.6 2.10 .36 2.46 15 63.8 0.5 2.10 .34 2.44 16 67.3 0.5 2.30 .35 2.65 17 70.8 0.5 2.39 .35 2.74 18 74.3 0.5 2.48 .35 2.83 19 77.8 0.5 2.57 .35 2.92 20 81.3 0.5 2.67 .35 3.02 21 84.8 0.5 2.75 .40 3.15 22 86.3 0.5 2.79 .40 3.19 23 91.8 0.5 2.82 .45 3.27 24 95.3 0.5 2.89 .45 3.34 25 98.8 0.5 2.96 .48 3.44 26 102.3 0.5 2.98 .50 3.48 27 105.8 0.5 3.00 .50 3.50 28 109.3 05 3.02 .55 3.57 29 114.0 0.7 3.05 .77 • 3.82 30 119.0 0.7 3.10 .77 3.87 31 124.0 0.7 3.15 .80 3.95 32 129.0 0.7 3.18 .82 4.00 33 134.0 0.7 3.22 .84 4.06 ■34 ■ 139.0 0.7 3.28 .38 4.16 35 144.0 0.7 3.30 .94 4.24 36 149.0 0.7 3.36 .95 4.31 37 154.0 0.7 3.40 .96 4.36 38 159.0 0.7 3.44 .98 4.42 39 164.0 0.7 3.47 1.00 4.47 40 169.0 0.7 3.50 1.02 4.62 41 176.0 1.0 3.55 1.65 5.20 42 186.0 1.5 3.60 2.47 6.07 43 199.0 1.8 3.70 3.15 6.85