PIGS AND CLEANLINESS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23036, 13 May 1938, Page 16

PIGS AND CLEANLINESS

PROFITABLE ATTENTION DETAILS BRINGING RETURNS PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS BY BIIKKDKR One hears a great deal about the necessity for clean and sanitary conditions around the pig pens. It is not only more pleasant working among the pigs when everything is clean and there is none of the smell usually associated with sties, but also it is an economic policy which is thoroughly well worth while. Now that the winter is coming on and the dairy farmer is not so busy, time spent in improving the conditions among the pigs will prove a most profitable outlay. The first essential to proper sanitation around the pig runs is adequate drainage. This is naturally dependent upon the site of the piggery. In almost every instance the drains one sees from the average pen are open and are seldom, if ever, cleaned out. It is impossible to prevent their becoming evil smelling; and a menace to the health of the pigs. I am well aware, of course, that where several pigs are confined to a very small area there is bound to be a certain amount of smell, even though the pens are cleaned every day. But this can be eliminated to a great extent by having a "fair' in the floor of the pen —at least four inches to every eight feet —to a draiji which must be outside the pen. Unwise Policy It is an unwise policy to have the drain inside the pen, otherwise in hot weather the pigs will certainly wallow in their own filth. This, in many cases, will lead to skip disease, sometimes known as "mud fever." Nor is it sufficient simply to sweep out the pens into any kind of drain unless the drain will take all the sweepings well away from the pens. This can only be done by a concrete or tile drain with a good "fall." Such drains are not expensive items and are thoroughly well worth while. If the fattening pens are properly constructed they need never be shifted. There are few farmers who appreciate the value of good dry bedding for the pigs. Although well-grown store pigs penned up for fattening will not necessarily contract colds, chills or pleurisy if they do not have bedding, nevertheless, pigs which are "bedded down" every night—especially at this time of the year—will always outgrow pigs kept under exactly similar conditions but which have no bedding. _At the same time the percentage of disease is much less. Equally important with cleanliness and sanitation are proper conditions around the feeding places of the store pigs, weaners and the sows and litters. A slightly raised platform, whether of wood or concrete, on which to place the feeding troughs is always a great assistance. A trough from which the pigs will not spill at least a very little of the milk has not been invented and rotten milk is not only evil-smelling, but is also a breeding ground for harmful germs and bacteria. Equally Serviceable

The feeding platforms need not necessarily bo of concrete, although these are more perma'nent, -and more easilv kept clean. Wooden platlorms are equally serviceable. The size of the platform will, of course, depend on the size of the troughs and the number of pigs to be fed, but there should be plenty of room for the pigs to move about freely on both sides of the trough and care should bo taken to see that it is on the highest point of the run so that water will not accumulate round about. Water laid on to the fattening pens is a great boon —it not only makes ths work of cleaning out much easier and quicker and also keeps the drain cleaner, but also it is a great assistance in the hot summer months when the pigs become affected with the heat; they can be easily hosed down during the' heat ot the day. Putting water on to the pig pens is naturally somewhat, expensive, but when one considers that the income from the pigs ran equal 2}d to 3d per lb on to the cream cheques—nearly per cent of the total income from, the average dairy farm —one will agree that a little extra expenditure can bo well worth while