Farming Notes

Putaruru Press, Volume XI, Issue 252, 18 May 1933, Page 6

Farming Notes

MOBEL PIGGERIES.

GRASS INSTEAD OF MUD. Recommended to Farmers. The “ open-air ” method of keeping

pigs, as advocated by the Waikato; Pig-recording Club, was explained to j Morrinsville farmers on Saturday by Mr. Pierson in his lecture. » The club had drawn up what it 1 considered to be a model method of raising pigs, as it had received many inquiries from young farmers as to the best method of keeping pigs. The club advocated the use of small grass paddocks. On two acres one could carry six sows, each of •which could be expected to produce two litters of seven pigs a year. Valuing each porker at £l, it could be said that these six sows on two acres would return £B4 gross a year. Yet too many farmers were trying to run 84 pigs on half an acre. The ■ Pig-recording Club asked farmers to . give pigs the space and attention they deserved. j

Mr. Pierson displayed a plan of a model piggery showing the small paddocks opening off a weighing and grading race. Each paddock had a pig house and a tree or shelter. • Value of Weighing . Pigs. Farmers might ask who was to do I the weighing of the pigs. Mr. Pierson wished to point out that it paid j to weigh pigs. The price for the 601b-801b porker was a halfpenny a pound more than for that over 801 b. The 801 b pig was therefore worth three shillings more than the 811 b Pig- “ If you are turning out 100 pigs a year and you get three shillings more for each the use of the weighing and grading race means £ls more to you,” said Mr. Pierson. Control of Pastures in Piggery. All gates into the paddocks shown on the plan are 10 feet wide so that mowers and harrows can he taken in to control the grass. No acre on

a farm is giving- such a high return as £42, which the piggery gives, so the pig pasture should be treated well. No sow was capable of controlling even one-seventh of an acre of grass, so it was advisable to control the grass by mowing, or sheep. Most dairy farmers had a few sheep. The sheep should be put in each paddock for a day to eat the grass down, and then new feed would grow for the pigs. Seeing that a sow produced so heavily she deserved to have I young, nutritious grass, i All pig houses are eight feet by eight feet, so that they can be taken through the 10-foot gateways. Good Grass as a Food. A feature of the plan is rotational grazing of the small grass paddocks. Most farmers already practised' rotational grazing with cows, so why not with pigs also? Good grass in the leaf stage is equal in food value to the best concentrates that money can buy, and it reduced the amount of food needed j by 33 1-3 per cent. Each sow was given a paddock . one-seventh of an acre in area. The I sow should be turned into the pad- _ dock 14 days before farrowing. Every paddock of one-seventh of an acre has a five-week spell after being grazed by the pigs. Take Sow from Litter. The sow should be taken from the 1 litter and not the litter from the sow. If the litter was taken away I the little pigs would worry to get i back to their old conditions and so would receive a check to their growth, but if left in their original paddock they would not be upset by the removal of the sow. Shade and Water. Shade was provided in every paddock, for pigs needed shade in hot weather. Water was essential for pigs. Farmers allowed every other animal plenty of water, but often neglected pigs. Water should be given separate from other food.

Trials in Waikato. Figures of recent feed trials carried out on numerous Waikato dairy farms were quoted to show that where ample grass was allowed the pigs the quantity of milk and meal required to produce so much live weight was considerably reduced. The foreman butcher at Horotiu said that the best-conditioned pigs were those from farms where grassfeeding was allowed.