FEEDING OF PIGS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23488, 27 October 1939, Page 15

FEEDING OF PIGS

LIMITED CAPACITY FREQUENT MEALS NEEDED WRONG DOMINION METHODS BY OUIDIBE It is not sufficiently recognised by the average farmer that the pig, unlike the ruminants, has a comparatively limited capacity for food at any 0110 time. The pig's stomach, like that of the human being, deals immediately with the food which is swallowed, and from this, and the fact that it is small in comparison with the size of the body, it is obvious that this animal was designed to eat frequently, if not continuously, during the day. From our own experience we realise that heavy, infrequent meals tend to produce indigestion, while if tlicso meals were composed largely of "slops" —to which skim milk or whey could be compared—which are quickly assimilated by the system, there would'be a tendency to gorge to capacity, in order to lessen the period of hunger between meals. Further, if like the pig we had to compete with others equally ravenous in order to secure our share of this "unsatisfying food, there would bo every inducement to cat or drink as much as possible in the shortest time. Digestion Upset One does not require to be a dietician to assert that such methods of taking our food would quickly upset the soundest digestion, and instead of promoting healthy growth and condition would give us dyspepsia and a host of attendant evils. Yet this is what we, in our pig-feeding methods popular in New Zealand, submit our pigs to. Morning and evening and perhaps in exceptional cases at mid-day also, wo fill the troughs with swill with which the unfortunate animals must distend themselves to bursting point to assuage their hunger and secure enough to carry them on for even an hour or two of the before the next gorge is due. When penned together with others they must bolt this food without opportunity of mixing it with the salivary fluid so essential for proper digestion, while even where allowed grazing they must stay the pangs of hunger with, frequently, coarse and unsatisfactory grass. Substantial Food Needed The pig is no more designed for this sort of feeding than are we, _ and it is a remarkable testimonial to his digestive organs that they often survive the unnatural strain which we imposo upon them by our unreasoning methods _of feeding. Even assuming that _ a ration of skim milk and grass supplies all the necessary ingredients for proper nourishment, this can only be satisfactory if taken in frequent and small meals. But it seems evident that even when this feeding method is adopted the pig requires also some substantial food which it can chew,.<ind which will thus promote active digestion. In America and most Continental countries, whole grain of one sort or another forms an essential part of the pig's ration. The proportion of this which is added to the milk and green food depends upon the stage of growth or fattening of the animal, but at no .time is this, or .some substitute in the form of roots, omitted after weaning. Even where pigs are fed three times daily there should therefore be provision of some grain or roots, in addition to succulent green pasture, to keep the digestive organs constantly employed. Only thus can the most rapid growth and fattening be secured and health maintained, and at a lower total cost than when bulky meals of skim milk are fed perhaps twice a day.