Feeding and Management For Profitable Pig Farming

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18064, 15 April 1933, Page 12

Feeding and Management For Profitable Pig Farming

A brief summary; of the main, causes ,of failure in pig-l'afming and in failing to secure first-grade tickets are given below in a further section of a paper prepared for suppliers of the Ngatiporou Co-operative Dairy Company, Limited, Huatofia, bylMr. W. McKinnon,, of Gisborne, who also deals with' attention required in many forms ,of sickness. He states'; —• Common Causes of Failure. Many people discredit pig farming and are unable to make it a, commeieial success. ‘lt is'only necessary to see some farms to understand why they are failures. The common causes of failure arc: — 1. Farming with wrong type of pig i.e. short, thick, heavy shouldered, dumpy type. 2. Faulty methods of feed and management. The pig must bo given a proper diet. The feeding must bo fresh, clean and regular. 3. Beginning with unhealthy stock. They must be profitable, free from tubereular disease. Sows must become “in pig” when turned to the boar. Sow must not be savage when pigging, must be good mothers and able to maintain full litter. ‘

4: Bud buying. Buying of store pigs is usually an unprofitable venture.

5. Buying of food, in small quantities at high rates, where it would be wiser if in a small way to co-operate with ono or two neighbors, so that ton lots may bo purchased. 6. Unsanitary methods. Good, clean, well-ventilated and warm sties are essential. It is useless keeping pigs under unsanitary and unsuitable conditions, in that they fatten slowly or become unhealthy and subject to all sorts of diseases. Under such circumstances they cannot profitably thrive and turn food into meat for human consumption. The Boar.

1. As with tho sow, the b.oar must have a vigorous constitution. 2. The use of good boars is very important in view of the fact that they breod a large number of sows. The uniformity of market pigs in a district depends largely upon the prepotency ,of the boars used. The breeding qualities of a boar cannot be ascertained until after litters of pigs have been farrowed and finished for market. Mature boars whoso breeding ability is known are more valuable than young untried boars. 3. The ancestry of boars is important. They should be the progeny of good individuals on both sire and dam sides of their ancestry. Besides being good individuals themselves, they should be selected from largo uniform litters. • 4. Boars should be masculine, be well grown for their age, and possess character, length, smoothness in conformation, and quality. They should also be active. 5. Boars should not be allowed to serve sows under 8 months. 6. The boar should not. bo permitted to run with sows. To obtain good litters tho sow should be taken to the boar 36 hours after first appearance of coming to season. Two services of the boar is ample. Attention to Sick Pigs.

Pigs suffering from any complaint should be separated from the main herd, not only because of occasional danger of infection, but because the sick or lame pig is not so well able to fight for its share of food. A clean run with a little- fresh grass, shelter from weather or sun, and dry bedding in winter, with clean water available in hot weather, and a little care in feeding to provide something tempting, will do much to aid nature in bringing about recovery. The giving of medicine to swine is not very satisfactory. Where the appetite is good, simple remedies such as salts or raw linseed oil will be taken in milk. A strong pig may be held by a noose round the upper jaw, or by an assistant straddling the pig, and holding the fore legs if tho pig is not.tpo large, when tho dose may be put into the mouth by a syringe’ and short length of rubber tubing, but if tho pig is very resistant, and at the same time weakly, more harm than good is likely to result.

Mortality in Bal)y Pigs, Young pigs born dead or dying shortly after birth, weakly, hairless or undersized: In spine cases such conditions arc due to lack of iodine in the sow's food, and where potassium iodide at the rate of one grain per day has been added to her diet for some weeks prior to farr,owing, a definite improvement has been noted. Other factors are the sow being too fat, lacking in some other mineral, notably phosphates, or suffering from uterine infection. The use ol b.onpflour supplied to the sow before farrowing, and of meat-meal to the litter once they start feeding, should guard against a phosphate shortage in the spring litters. | Anaemia in sucklings has been dosI eribed. The pigs may apparently do 1 well but die off one by one. Carcases may bo fat blit lacking in fluid and ! the liver very pule. It is stated t,o ' occur chiefly where sows are housed and fed entirely on dairy by-products, and some investigators believe it to be due to lack of iron in pregnant sows’ food. Losses believed to be due to anaemia have been seen whore ■ sows were fed swedes before and skim inillc after farrowing with no supplci mont. Confinement and lack of exercise arc important factors. Diarrhoea or White Scours in Suckers. Tjhis affects the baby . pigs from thtoe to eight days old. The motions are greyish or yellowish white, liquid, and foul-smelling, and the pigs rapidly become weak and depressed, many die, and others receive a severe check. In one outbreak, the important factor seemed to bo somo infection about sties, as the trouble practically disappeared onco all sows were farrowed in open yards. However, in most cases the cause is some error in the feeding of the sow, particularly just before and after farrowing, uso of excessive protoin, mouldy or decaying foods, molasses or overfeeding just after farrowing. During the first 24 hours the sow should have just a little thin slop, and be brought to full feed gradually. For control give the sow two ounces Epsom salts in slop, cut down solid food temporarily, attend to

cleanliness, preferably move to clean run. 1 It is worth noting that most losses; of baby pigs are in spring litters, and prevention seems largely a matter of, correct feeding of sows in winter to provide requisite minerals, etc., and of good hygiene to avoid as far as possible dirt, contamination of sows’ teats, etc. Careful washing and drying of sows’ teats just before farrow-, ing is a routine worth following with j spring sows. If the sow is a heavy milker, wash hands carefully, and gently draw off a little milk occasionally, to reduce supply for youngsters.. Formaline, useful in the same condi-' tion in calves, could be tried on the | piglets, two to three drops with a pinch of baking soda, given in half an ounce of boiled milk, with a spoon. Prolapse of Rectum. In this condition, portion ,of the hind gut becomes turned inside out, and projects as a dark red swelling, I rapidly becoming swollen and irritated.” It is 'most often seen in weqnors, wliero the cause may be indigestion, or overfeeding on whey or skim-milk, or use of trough just too high, on the edge of which the pig i rests its belly, as ho must get his foot I into the trough. Prevent by feeding smaller quantities and of toner, and by, providing a lower trough. In older pigs it may be the result of high con-' dition, lack of exercise, constipation, or diarrhoea. If seen early the pig j may bo raised by the hind legs, the. part gently massaged to removo swel-j ling, and then replaced. A draw stitch in and around anus, loft in place for 48 hours, will prevent oe-j currcnee again. Keep on a very j short diet, with a little raw linseed ( oil, .1 nstcad of a stitch, a safety pin has been used with good results. Pneumonia and Pleurisy. Pneumonia is inflammation of the substance of the, lung. The causes are, infection (see pastaurcllosis) sudden change of temperature, etc. Lying ini draughts tinder trees, over-crowding in poorly-ventilated or draughty houses, and defective feeding predispose ,tQ , this complaint. The symptoms are: , hurried and laborious breathing, frc-> quent attacks of coughing, dirty dis- ■ charge from nostrils, poor appetite, weakness and loss of condition. Affected pigs may die within four to five days or at any time as the result of heart failure. A post-mortem will show largo or small areas of the lung tissue to be solid and liver-like in consistency, instead of spongy and elastic. Recovered pigs may remain unthrifty. As it is difficult to de-' terming whether tfie case is one of simple pneumonia, affected pigs should lie isolated and treated for that com-' plaint. |

Pleurisy is inflammation of flic lining covering the Jung and the inside of tho chest walls. It is nearly always present along with pneumonia, but may often occur alone as a result of chills. The pig moves somewhat stiffly, breathing is painful, and may be accompanied by a grunt, but not hurried as in pneumonia. Good nursing is all that is required, and many cases apparently recover unnoticed.—(To bo concluded).