MODERN PIG-KEEPING

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19639, 27 July 1935, Page 23 (Supplement)

MODERN PIG-KEEPING

The Cleanest Animal. It has frequently been" declared that the pig is the cleanest of all animals, and it undoubtedly is if given a chance. A visitor to 'Denmark tells of a large pig house lie there saw. It was owned by a Dane who had gone to America, , married an American woman Who had much money, and who had returned to Denmark and established a piggery on I which no money was spared. His main I building was made to -accommodate 5000 pigs. Alongside each spen was a passageway which led to an outside passageway running the whole length of -the building. Afi'd everyone of the 3000 pigs housed in the building at the time used that passageway for dunging purposes. The pens were thus kept remarkably olean. At the present time Danish pig houses are going up all over England, and a feature of them is the dunging passage. A very progressive settler -of the Koromatua district, Mr F. A. Caley, has adopted the dunging passage in a very good concrete finishing house, and with tt\o most satisfactory results. Mr Fred Discombe tells of an old pigman lie knew who when lie brought home any pigs would never put them straight Into the house they were to occupy. He would fence -off a corner of the field with a few hurdles and keep them there for a day or so. Then -they would always return to their first corner for dunging purposes, as pigs invariably will do. For this reason Mr Discombe agrees with the preference Mr Peirson, Recording Officer, has for the house being at the back of the paddock, as 'then there will never be any manure about the feeding end. * * * * Danish Methods. In conjunction with the Danish method of housing there is also being introduced into England the Danish method of feeding, a method originated at the famous Lindholm Experimental Farm, near -Copenhagen. This is the addition to the ordinary grain ration -of a special food which contains all the necessary mineral matter properly balanced, thus making any food provided quite complete. As this food is very concentrated only very small quantities are required. The Now Zealand Co-operative Pig Marketing Association has arranged for the manufacture of a similar food in this country, which will be marketed under t'he name of Yitameal. This will do away with all the worry of -providing licks, and especially of providing the sow with the special food she should have before farrowing, particularly in regard to minerals.

The Ton Litter.

The ton litter continues to make good progress, 'though in the past 14 days the average gain per pig has been but I.llb. a day. This was mainly duo to sickness of two of the litter, whoso low gains of weight reduced the average of the lot. The pigs, now 20 weeks old, show a total weight for the 13 of 18141 b., or an average of 1401 b. per pig. Tlius it will be necessary for the litter 'to make a gain of 8001 b. if it is to attain the record of a ton in six months. If weather conditions improve Mr Porn it believes it will bo done. The feeding for the past 14 days has been the same as it was for the preceding 14 days. This, in the Recorder’s opinion, was a wrong policy. There should have been an increase in the food with an increase In the weight. With the same amount of food, a probably increased amount of water in the separated milk (as this ia collected from the factory), and the

cold and wet conditions there was a combination of conditions antagonistic to good progress. The total results to date are, however, most satisfactory, while the condition and general health of the pigs are a credit to the feeder.

The Large Whites in this litter were bred from a maiden boar and a maiden sow. The boar is quarter English but the sow is pure Canadian. Undoubtedly the progeny of this mating are the type of pig the country wants. It is commonly said that the Large White will not thrive under open air conditions like other breeds, that it must be better done. But in one fortnight, when the average gain in weight was IJlb a day, there were only two days on which there was no rain, and the only dry spot the pigs had was in their little shed. This is absolutely draught proof and there is always good dry bedding. Slats were not used in building the house hut building paper, kept in position by wire netting, was used inside to provide draught proof conditions. The outside conditions could hardly have been worse. * * * • The Large White. Mr Porritt has had some disappointments before the present desirable types of the breed, and several expensive pigs have had to be discarded. He has tried ■ both English and Canadian and he now believes that some 'Canadian strains are better than the English. He is definitely proving, however, that there are good, very good, strains of the Large Whites in this country. But a man wants to know the true type of the Large White, fbr selection must be keenly done. Every Large White in England is not of the right type. Apparently they have as we have, many poor strains, the narrow, leggy type. In a lecture delivered in England at the end 'of May, on The Right Type of Animal to Breed, the speaker said: “No doubt the Large White at the moment is the best type of modern b&con pig, but there are good and bad Large Whites; indeed we knovv of no worse pig than the very narrow Large White, long in the leg, and coarse in both bone and hair, which breeders have evolved to get a long, light-shouldered and lean pig, and, neglecting the need for quality and thriving power, have gone completely to the other extreme, and to the bad so far as feeding for bacon is concerned.”

And is not 'tills English experience being repeated in this country? The right type of Lange ’White is undoubtedly a great pig, and. those who have the right type swear !by it, just as those who have unfortunately been landed with the wrong type oondemn the breed altogether. It is the strain, not the breed, that is wrong, and the only thing that will eliminate the undesirable strains is systematic pig reoording. In the matter of right and wrong types of the Large White, however, a man's eye, if he has any eye at all for type, .should be a good enough guide. Thp breeder of any type of animal will condemn the narrow leggy animal. It Is all very, well to aim at length and a fine shoulder but it is sheer madness to breed for suoh characteristics at the expense of constitution and the characteristics that go with it, rapid maturity and economical-gain in weight. The thriving economical pig must come first. * * * . m Rat© of Feeding. In a big pig farm in England, where the feeding is done on the Danish system, the rule of feeding is to give lib of food a day for each month of age. That is the pig that is a month old gets lib of food a day, the two months old pig 21b, and finally the six months old pig gets 61b a day. The most important fact in feeding is that the food should he gradually increased with increasing weight, and the expert feeder is he who most strictly adheres to 'this rule. And the expert will always give the food in a thoroughly clean trough. A pig appreciates appetising food probably more than any other animal. If a pig Is dirty it is man who mates it so. * * * * Why Danish Is on Top. The British housewife prefers Danish bacon because it is more dependable. Produced from a standardised pig the method of curing is not varied. It is well advertised and presented to them attractively. These three attributes practically sum up the qualities English bacon lacks. Denmark produces its bacon from practically one breed of pigs. In England there are ten or more different breeds, and innumerable crosses. Denmark, by 'tank curing, produces a milder cure, more to the general English taste. English curers, as a whole have been slow to drop the dry salt cure In favour of this method. This heavy salting, whilst

satisfying local tastes of manual workers, is not popular in the cities. English curing 'is also hampered toy a superabundance of curers. Denmark, whose output is almost double that of England, has eighty curing factories. There are between five hundred and six hundred in England, and of these only about forty can be called factories In the full sense. It would seem to toe an insuperable task to standardise the nigs of England, to give the absolutely uniform carcase. New Zealand has a great opportunity but breed prejudice is blocking the way to progress. There is only room for two breeds of pigs, to provide the desirable first crosses, and if pig breeders could only be made to see this it would be the finest thing that could happen to the country. England is doing something, however, to rectify the curing weakness. Through the Development Eoard being set up every curing factory will have to be registered and will have to toe up-to-date, and small unneccessary factories will have to be closed. * * * * Baconera v. Porkera.

One of the best Informed men on pigs in England Is Lord Lymington. Writing in the British Journal of Agricluture he expresses the opinion that “while pork pigs often fetch, more per score and provide a quicker turn over of cash, to fatten bacon pigs at a reasonable price the year round is more economical.” He adds: “Provided that the last ten weeks in the fattening period of a bacon pig show a profit In pounds weight gained for food and labour expended, the longer period reduces the rate of cost per pig in overheads for keeping the sow or paying the initial price for the stores.” • * * * ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS Cod Liver Oil. “Novice,” Matamata.—The best way to give cod liver oil to -calves is to mix the oil with some pollard. The oil will adhere to the particles of pollard and may then be easily mixed with the milk. Lime and Molasses. J.W.A., Tirau.—ln making up a llmemolasses drench slaked or burnt lime must be used, not carbonate of lime. Take a double handful of the lime and just cover it with water. After, say, half an hour break up the lime to the consistency of cream. Then .strain it through a milk strainer and. add to lit about 2Jib of molasses. This will be sufficient for two drenches. When the drench is required take half the quantity and add to it,half a gallon of warm water.