PROFIT IN PIGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19032, 1 June 1925, Page 14

PROFIT IN PIGS.

tONG-NEGLECTED INDUSTRY. LESSONS FOR FARMERS. \ BUYING AND BREEDING, [ny TELEC RAPII. —OWN CORTIESPON DENT. ] HAMILTON. Saturday. "Pig breeding is the last of our industries to be recognised by (lie Government; but it is at last being realised that Iho pig is going to p'ay a part in the agricultural welfare of New Zealand, said Mr. K. W. Gorringc in a lecture on pigs delivered at the. Farm School at Jvuakura. Ho said that if farmers would only follow tho improvements suggested it Would Iw of great benefit to the pig industry and tho Dominion generally. The farmers, he admitted, were improving in their methods, but there was still a considerable amount to be learned. The speaker dealt with tho numerous piistakes committed by pig-keepers, the first- and foremost of which was the buying of pigs. No farmer, he saiu, should buy pigs offered at a salcyard. Such mnimals were, in the majority of cases, -pure disease carriers, and the buyer, could not be sure that in taking homo such an animal he, was not providing a means whereby he would lose his entire stock. 'The obvious solution of this difficulty was for tho farmer to buy a, reliable cow from ;iomo well-known breeder, and mako this his first and last purchase by breeding his iown pigs. Farmers, however, would persist in tho practice of buying pigs with a view to fattening them, regardless of tho number ot parasites both internal and •external to which the pig was subject. 'The practice was common to the whole of jS'ew Zealand; but was most particularly noticeable in the Waikato district in the ,viciiiity of Hamilton. • Another point .frequently lost sight of, said Mr. Gorringe, was that pig-keeping ;was a business, and not merely an adjunct to dairy farming in order to get rid the "skim dick"; and " the pig breeder should not take it up uv'lcss he was equipped with tho necessary knowledge. The first lesson to be learned was, .Do not buy another man's pigs, unless to establish a herd from known stock. Tho Cost, of Breeding. With reference to the cost of breeding, Mr. Gorringe pointed out that the industry in New Zealand was too "voung to provide any data on tlus po;:w, in America they left, nothing to chance ;nnd kept comparative tables which snowed that under the highest feeding conditions the upkeep of a sow, if handled properly, ■was not more than Is per liead per week. "Under such conditions wear>ers should not have cost" more than 10s pel head when 10 weeks old, while under such ideal conditions as "prevail in New Zealand trie cost should not bo more than 7s at the i same age. . • , , "To bo at all profitable, pigs .must .>e properly fed/.; Unless this is dpne the aiiimal becomes the worst of the farmers troubles," continued Mr. Gorringo. JJe stated that pigs were really highly intelligent animals, and if they wen? not. fed on the* right lines they were apt to no and get what they needed for themselves, with the result that they broke down fences and all other barricades! ,in their eagerness. Farmers were incline" to think that three feeds of "skim dick' a day war. ,sufficient to satisfy the pig and that the animal only broke through Snto the crops from a sense of mischief; "but, this was not so. The pig's digestive organs, the speaker "explained, .were almost as delicate as a human being's, on, the same system as ' which they, were formed, and therefore ft continuous milk diet# was bad for the . nnimal, which would then seek some other : iiind oE "fodder Dairy produce was not .absolutely 1 .esvntial in the feeding ot • pigs,- as had been demonstrated by America"; it had, however,; properties . which greatly enhanced the value of the carcase. In this respect; therefore, New Zealand' had the best conditions in the world under which pigs could 1)0 raised for killing. Hereditary Trait% ' From personal experiment, tho speakei was of the opinion that breeding capacity ntid a good milk feed supply were both 'hereditary traits, and it could confidently he anticipated 'that the progeny of a sow. ' >vhich displayed tho good points mentioned would also display them. Sows, •however, should not be used for breeding purposes until at least eight months old if the best results' were expected (from their progeny. ( . The lecturer gave a comparison between the cost, of pig-keeping and tho cost of dairying. Three sows could bo run on acres of land, as against only one average cow. Allowing an average litter of i eight pig.< tt ßfiSwfi£®:>,..and placing the marketing prieS"~ff.T""loAV as it was .huely to go, there clear profit of £24 from on area of 1£ acres. The average faring had not taken up thfii industry extent; on act oun'i of the fluctuations m the" iriarket,: 1 sai?4J .but this •, was ' likely to m the near, future with 'M' *be .export ' trader Diirin^tlt&B^R-.^ 11 ' 00 J' cars ? n «!Sport" .vip- I.n .tip. first year •'£2j^b»woiit : h:-.df the product had been following year the exports to , £133,000; while'up till MarcS&iiij^fi&t some i £91,000 ■worth nad been exported, and it: was likely that by the end of 1925, the figures would have reached *£200,000, or even a Quarter of a imll\oirpyunds._ The cause of such rapid strides in .the industry was tho fact that no "rtibbish" had been isentHome, only the best types and quality being, passed. It was to be hoped that the record so far established would not be spoilt by l indiscriminate export in tlic future. ■ ■ "J*- . Oare of the Animals. ' ; Mr. Gorringe next dealt with the care of the. animals themselves. Sanitation, he said, was one of the, most important and yet the most frequently neglected .point in pig-keeping. Unless the piggery was kept sanitary and clean the young pigs were liable to pick up all ki._Js of disease. It was impossible to keep any piggery pioperly if the sun were excluded. Parasites bred particularly quickly in darkness and were a serious menace to the young pigs; but if the sties, etc., were so constructed that they could lie opened up to the sun tho risk of disease was minimised. Ouo of the worst types of piggerv, in ■the lecturer's opinion, was tho one placed in a gully over which the sty projected. Frequently such sties had a grating floor in order to lessen the labour of cleaning them. The result was that not only did a hot bed oi disease gather under the sty where the animal could root in it, but also tho cold wind blew up from under the, floor and was decidedly detrimental to the animal. The area of the piggery need not be particularly large, said the lecturer, but to get the best results it was necessary to divide the ground into a series of small,,allotments, each growing a different forage crop, as variety in fodder was the most essential feature of successful pigraising. _ Tho lecturer showed diagrams illustrating various types of piggeries and the various crops suitable for forage purposes.; These included lucerne, oats, rape, crimson clover, turnips, marvels, artichokes, make, beans, peas, barley, and chou moullier. It was rlso necessary to havo an adequate water supply, as pigs wero great drinkers. If the animals could not get a supply of fresh water to help to flush out their systems, they were liablo to eat any kind of moist filth, with the iesult.~that thoy became diseased, Mb,