Pig Clubs’ Section

Northern Advocate, 14 January 1939, Page 13

Pig Clubs’ Section

Specially written by W. A. BEATTIE

Nutrition and Reproduction

THIS is the subject of an article in the latest number of the Journal of the British Ministry of Agriculture. In the article there is much foo<| for thought, and with acknowledgements to the journal and to the writer, it may be useful to farmers to reproduce some of the facts and arguments in that article, adding to it such general information as has been gleaned-from experience in the work being carried on in New Zealand. What is stated not only applies to pigs, but to all other farm animals, and its general application should make it, therefore, doubly Valuable.

Former Views. When an animal failed to breed, it was formerly generally considered that she was suffering from some disease. On examination, however, it was often found that no pathological condition existed. Probably, when there was no organic disease t rateable, people put the trouble down either to some invisible germ or pure “cussedness.” This view, while it may have given some satisfaction to some people (for most people are contented provided that they hold a ; view however erroneous it may be),, was not borne out by the search for a germ and as for the “cussedness,” .such a .phenomenon is unknown to science. £o|ical Explanation. While there is quite a number of cases where organic disease can be found, in fnost cases this cause can be disregarded. ■ Even where disease or such conditions as slight inflammation of the generative organs are present, such would vnot have arisen had there not been other Unfavourable circumstances that prnyenjted the body from performing its proper functions.' Everyone- kpowsihat a lamp will not function en water, nor will atcar go unless it hfs benzine and electricity, Is The absence of any essential is as baid 'as the absence of everything. The animal body is a very complex organism, relying for its proper functioning on the presence of many things, and the absence of any one of;them will lead to the ultimate •extinction,,of life, or if, not, then the disorganisation of certain of the functions of the body. }■ • Reproduction. Reproduction is the essence of farming. farming has been defined as the *. exploitation of the parenthood of animals. Once the farm animals cease to reproduce, so does the farm cease to function. It is most important for successful- farming that the farm animals hot , only reproduce, but reproduce regularly, and at the proper TCpe processes of reproduction are outline one say that first of all combs the iteration of the male sperms the fluids that accompany thejn, ttien qf the female ova or eggs that- accompany, them. Then there arc all mkterials that go of the placenta and ' its fluids, bf the foetus and that finally result in theyoung animal, complete in every -way.

Bones nave to be formed, the flesh and fat and skin, the blood, the little chemical laboratories called glands, and the glands have to be stocked with those chemicals that will enable them to manufacture their special fluids. If any of the essentials necessary to the production of the young animal have to be supplied out of the reserves of the mother, these have to be made up so that she can go ahead with the v/ork of reproduction. Lactation. The mother has to manufacture milk in sufficient quantities to keep the young healthy and growing. At the same time, as she is to be mated as soon as they are weaned, she has at .that time to build up her own reserves or the mating, with its immediate consequence of the starting of another flttle life, will be unsuccessful. The heavier milker the animal, and the better off her offspring, the more likely is she to suffer from depletion of her resources. That is why some very ordinary animals appear to go through without any trouble, and the better bred animals are often in difficulties.

•♦ryss Requirements Of Animals Roughly speaking, the requirements of an animal consist of proteins, carbohydrates, fats or oils, minerals and vitamins. Proteins are found in milk, young grass, clovers, meat meal and so on, carbohydrates in grain and roots, oils | in butterfat, cod liver oil and so on. Grass in the leaf stage has all three of these substances, and so has milk. Meat meal is largely protein and fat, while cpd liver oil is; practically a pure oil. . ! If pigs receive milk and grass, theoretically at least, they are receiving their requirements. As a pig, however is not a ruminant like a cow or sheep, it cannot make such use of grass as those, animals, and it is therefore advisable to give it meat meal As the’milk is usually skimmed, this becomes more necessary than ever. What of Vitamins? A great deal is spoken and written about minerals and vitamins, but as yet not a very great deal is known accurately about them. We know that calcium and phosphorus as found, for example, in phosphates, are essential to the formation of bones and other tissues, that a trace of iodine is necesr sary to the functioning of the thyroid gland, that where cobalt is deficient, bush sickness intervenes, that if iron and copper are absent anaemia follows, and that salt is necessary to all animals. Generally speaking, these elements should be found in the natural food of the animals, but where we feed artificially and on artificially pastures, there are many chances of one or some of these important elements being absent. If any one of them is absent, the body will cease to function in one way or another. So far as vitamins are concerned, those who talk glibly about them should remember that there is still a very great deal to learn about them and about the place that they occupy

in. life. They are contained in young grass, in cod liver oil, in butterfat and in milk, and generally they should be present in a normal and sensible diet. Those that are most likely to be absent or which are so necessary that adequate quantities of them should be ensured, are found in fresh milk and in cod liver oil. Mineral Supply Apart from mineral licks, which most certainly have their place, most of the minerals that* are required should be found in wood ashes and lime, and both of these are cheap. Pigs should never be without an adequate supply of them. Wood ashes are good because minerals are just as essential for the maintenance of vegetables as of animal life. The tree with its deep rooting system is able to obtain from the lower layers of the soil minerals that are no longer contained in the top layers. The difficulty with shallow rooting grass is that the top soil may become exhausted and the grass will no longer contain all those elements necessary for proper nutrition. Thus, animals grazing on shallow rooting pastures may still be insufficiently nourished.

Pigs Prone to Troubles

Pigs are prone to such troubles as mineral deficiency because they grow so very rapidly that they must receive extra.

Furthermore,- they produce such large, quick-growing litters that they must be able to provide in their milk additional quantities of minerals for the young. That this is' the case is shown by the fact that sow’s milk is six times richer in minerals than human milk, and about two and a-half times richer than cow’s milk. This simple fact is either not generally known or is disregarded, and the result is that troubles ensue, Nature will prevent an animal from breeding if it has not the reserves to carry out the programme from conception to birth. In many cases, therefore, of failure to come on to heat, or to conceive, the simplest reason is that those reserves are so depleted that nature has stepped in with her veto. Until those resources are again built up and they can be hurried by special attention, the animal will not breed.

This article can be concluded by quoting several important passages from the journal mentioned.

“The effect of shortage of these elements on reproduction are the more insidious through the gradual character of their development, Since for a time, which may be prolonged, the deficiencies of the food may be made good by the depletion of the supplies of calcium and phosphorus in the maternal skeleton. “Even with a continuous deficiency, therefore, little effect may be noticed at first, or even at the second pregnancy, and when eventually it does appear the general tendency will be to look for the cause in some recent change of diet or treatment rather than in the long continued (but unsuspected) dietary mistakes. The unwisdom of allowing a drain upon the mineral reserves of the maternal body during the gestation period becomes actual folly when it is remembered that this period is followed by the period of milk production, in which for a time some further depletion of the mineral stores is almost inevitable even with a liberal supply of minerals in the food, "Regard should be had to the desirability of enabling the parent to store up a reserve of protein in her body, apart from the bare needs for reproduction, in order to provide some insurance against the drain to which she may be exposed later when the heavy demands of lactation have to be met.”