FINISH OFF THE PIGS

Taranaki Daily News, 23 March 1935, Page 24 (Supplement)

FINISH OFF THE PIGS

FEEDING THAT PAYS AN EXAMPLE FROM OTAGO. Many farmers, because of the very serious milk shortage, are sacrificing their pigs instead of keeping them going with meals, says a southern writer. A case came under notice the other day where an Otago farmer had nine good porkers and 40 weaners. He was going to sell the weaners which would only have realised 2s to 3s a head, and carry the porkers on to bacon weights. He was persuaded to sell the porkers, which realised 35s a head, and spend about 7s a head for meal on the weaners, which by May should be good porkers worth about 355, or, in other words, by purchasing some necessary food, he should make about £5O from pigs he was ready to sacrifice at from £4 to £6. As to feeding the weaners, the farmer had about 50 gallons of separated milk. Therefore he would have to feed about 11b of meal a day to each pig, increasing this as the pigs gained in weight, till at 16 weeks the pigs, then at porker weight, would be getting 31b of meal a day, say 21b of meat meal, or meat and bone meal, and 11b of pollard.. The actual cost of meal would be about 7s. The fact to be remembered is that unfinished pigs are a drug on the market At the present time and the finished pig is at ■ a premium. It therefore pays to buy meals (7s to 10s worth for porkers and £1 for baconers), and if these are fed judiciously, increasing the amounts given very gradually, there is undoubted profit in them.