Pig Production Must Progress

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 61, Issue 2, 15 August 1940, Page 103

Pig Production Must Progress

- By -

C. V. DAYUS,

District Superintendent, Livestock Division, Dunedin.

Essential Factors in Rearing Healthy Animals For Great Britain

•jeu——mi—mi——mt—»nu— mi——-mi——mi—■mi—r*|« j Farmers are responding whole- I T heartedly to the call for in- 1 I creased pig production, but I I there are a number of essential j 1 points which must not be lost j ! sight of in attaining this objec- | I five. These factors, which in- = | elude such items as breeding, i T housing and nutrition, are dis- ! j cussed in this article. I J —mi mi——mi mi mi mi mi mi—mi tin mi

PIG production in New Zealand has fallen off in the last two years,, associated with a downward trend in the production of dairy produce. Now is the time to arrest this downward trend and to convert it into an expansion of baconer. production. Apart from it being a profitable undertaking, it is the duty of: everyone who can do so to increase pig production.

The pig is the most prolific breeder on the farm, and comes to commercial maturity within a relatively short period. A comparatively small area of land is required for development, and the pig, does just as well on the large farm, small holding, . and ..individual rural home.

Imports into Britain In 1938 no less than 498,600. tons of pig-meat were imported into Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in addition to home, production. In this huge amount the principal items were: — Tons. Denmark 169,500 bacon Canada 63,800 „ Irish Free State . 26,800 „ Poland 22,800 „ Other foreign . ; countries 38,500 „ U.S.A 19,800 hams New Zealand .... 28,900 frozen pork Argentine 11,900 „ „ Other British 5 countries 14,600 „ „ , It will be appreciated from these figures how much pig-meat Great Britain has lost through the war and the invasion of Denmark, Holland, and Poland. . It will also be . realised . that New Zealand- supplied a very small amount 5.79 per cent. ,

New Zealand is the greatest exporter of dairy produce in the world, yet her , ~ , ~ , . pig production was less than one-third of the pig production of Denmark, and less than one-half that of Holland. : ■ ■■<

Bridging the Gap There were 4,500,000 pigs in Great Britain in June, 1939, and. it was estimated . that if one out of every five rural allotment holders and rural householders fattened only one pig each an additional half a million pigs would be produced each year. The British producer, however, cannot hope to make up any appreciable amount of the deficiency because of the difficulty in the supply of pig feed. He has no cheap dairy by-products to

utilise, as has New Zealand; he has to rely largely on cereal food much of which has to be imported. Under war conditions _ however , im p Ort ed cereal food is more valuable as human food, It must be remembered that it takes

about 61b. of cereal grain to produce 11b. of pig-meat, but lib. of pig-meat in human nutrition will not go as far as lib. of grain, still less 61b. Bacon Pigs Required Practically two-thirds of the pigs produced in Great Britain go into the pork trade, and in the past there were often insufficient pigs to supply this trade. Porker pigs call for less organisation than baconers, and pork production is the easy, less-responsible way of using dairy by-products. Bacon pays as well, and is a more stabilised form of production. If New Zealand is to make the best contribution to the national effort in the production of pig-meat, it is a supply of bacon pigs that is required, because it is undoubtedly the bacon market and not the pork market in which there is practically unlimited opportunity for expansion. A policy of bacon production could lay the foundation for a larger share of the trade after the

wax. If the uniformity and the quality of pig carcasses is improved and this is being done as a result of grading by the elimination of poor types of boars and sows, and by selective breeding and proper feeding—there is no reason why New Zealand should not permar nently expand her market. Breeding As the main present demand and future potentialities are in the bacon market, the first essential is to breed pigs of the right type and then finish them off uniformly and to correct weights. Much of the Danish success is due to the uniformity of their carcasses, induced largely by simplicity in breeding and feeding. The bacon curer likes a pig with length, having, a good top and underline, light in the shoulder, collar, jowl and head, and having a well-filled ham meaty down to the hock and which, on slaughter, will give a good proportion of lean to fat. This formulates a good general ideal, but in the production of the long, lean pig care must

be exercised that this development is not at the expense of constitution. While it is desirable to develop pigs fine in the shoulder, they must not be too fine for fear of restricting chest room, etc. A study of the returns from the carcass quality evaluation scheme in New Zealand is interesting. Of the 686 entries in the pig classes, pigs sired by Tamworth, Berkshire, and Large. White boars are in comparable numbers and score equally well on the points of length, shoulder fat, loin fat, and rate of growth. Most breeds are capable of producing either bacon or pork, and a good bacon pig will generally produce reasonably good pork. Producing the Desired Type Whatever the breed selected, it is better, where possible, for the feeder to breed his own stock; by this means the desired type can be produced and the risk of disease lowered. There are too many mongrel pigs raised in New Zealand, which is not conducive to

uniformity in the carcasses. The supply of bacon pigs should be maintained by purebreds and the first or second cross. The strain and the type are also most important.

The influence of breeding on carcass quality cannot be overstressed, but not enough attention is paid to this fact in New Zealand. In emphasising this I might mention that on one farm in England a particular Large White boar was crossed with sows of six different breeds, and there was very little difference in the grading, returns from the mixed progeny. On the other hand, the winning pig in the Palmerston North Show for three successive years was from a Berkshire sow on which three different boars were used.

Housing

Contrary to popular opinion, no farm animal is really so clean in its habits as the pig, and probably none suffers so much if obliged to exist in wet, foul, cold surroundings. Good hous-

ing is one essential for success in pig production. Favourable conditions of housing with proper lighting, and venti-

lation and efficient drainage, providing a sufficiently warm and equitable temperature, and a warm, dry floor, will be the means of disease prevention and economy in food consumption.

In permanent buildings concrete floors are ideal for cleanliness, but if badly put down they may lead to cramp, enlarged joints, rheumatism, and unthriftiness. To prevent the loss of body heat through the floor it is essential to have a sound layer of insulation between the concrete and the ground. Coke breeze or brick rubble is useful for this purpose. This insulating layer should not be less than 9in. thick, and should be covered with waterproof paper before laying the concrete, which will prevent the cement mixture filling up the air spaces. The concrete layer should not be more than 2in. deep. The sleeping quarters could have a closelyboarded wooden platform, which can be moved for cleaning, laid over the concrete.

In Great Britain last year I had several opportunities of noting the attention that was paid to this insulating layer. A well-made hollow brick was often used, with the concrete layer on top not more than lin. thick. Another popular method is to lay a 2in. thick cork insulation on a concrete base and cover it with asphalt or bituminous compound.

Efficient drainage is essential,

but in whatever system is adopted in permanent houses each pen should be drained separately into a common channel. In no case should a channel run through several pens in turn, as this, is a likely means of spreading disease.

The actual type of housing is more a matter for the individual pig producer, but there are many quite efficient designs available. The Department of Agriculture has just published a new Bulletin, No. 117, “Lay-out and Construction of Modern Piggeries.”

Nutrition

The pig is the most economic manufacturer of meat. It gains lib. liveweight with less food than any other farm animal, and requires about 41b. of dry matter to provide that increase, whereas cattle, for example, require from 10 to 121 b.

Nutrition has an important bearing on the maintenance of health. In feeding breeding stock the main point is

to keep them in good breeding conditionhealthy, active, and fit—without allowing them to become too fat. Breeding sows must' be given plenty of fresh air, sunlight, and exercise if they are to be kept healthy and able to produce strong and virile litters.

Heavy milk yield by the sow is of fundamental importance, because if young pigs get a good start on their mothers they are better able to resist disease and withstand the check at

weaning. The sow must not be overfed for the first few days after farrowing, and her food should be easily digestible; otherwise, milk production will be interfered with,- and .that abnormal condition may be induced which results in the sow “savaging” her pigs. > . Green Stuff In the Diet Sows which are - farrowed. in pens and not allowed to run on pasture when suckling, their pigs often secrete

milk with a very low iron content, with the result that the young pigs become anaemic. The onset of infectious diseases can often ; be traced to a time of lowered resistance; and nothing leaves the young animal more prone to infection than anaemia. This nutritional anaemia of sucking pigs is characterised by persistent scouring and rapid wasting, ending in death from exhaustion in a few days. Access to pasture or the provision of some earthy material will generally relieve the condition; alternatively, the

affected piglets must be dosed daily with | to 1 teaspoonful of Parrishes Food. It is therefore wise to give all pigs a daily allowance of green stuff of some kind, for this plays an important part, in maintaining health. There is no economy in undernourishing young piglets; they should, be encouraged to eat at the earliest possible age. A considerable gain will result if this can be induced before they are three weeks old. The food thus given by means of creeps to little pigs while they are suckling the sow will show the greatest return of any food fed throughout the life of the pig, and will do much to prevent that check at weaning which has such a detrimental effect on growth, carcass quality, and disease resistance. Mixture for Creep Feeding A simple and satisfactory feed mixture for creep feeding is meat-meal and barley, half and half. Some prefer a mixture of 4 parts of barley-meal, 4 parts of pollard, and 1 part of highgrade meat-meal. Allow the. piglets as much as they will clean up twice a day, and in addition allow them access to some green food.

The, simplest method of giving green food is to let the little pigs run out at grass with the sows for. a while each day, or,' if such arrangement is ; not possible, . feed some green - stuff ■ such as cabbages, .kale, or rape, etc. ■

' The piglets should not be. weaned until they are eight weeks old,- and should be fed on the best of feed until they are three to four months old. It is' well to remember that the value of a pig is largely determined by the first three months of its life, and therefore the ability to turn out healthy pigs of good weight and development at weaning and until the pig is 701 b. weight is fundamental to success.

Cod Liver Oil

It is now general practice to give cod liver oil to pigs, but on economical grounds this oil should be used with care. It is a mistake to have the oil ration too high, as it tends to produce soft fat, and, if fed too near to slaughter, it may taint the produce. Only high-grade oil should be used, as losses have been reported in the United States of America due to the unsaponified portion of low-grade oil.

The . cheapest and easiest material : to use as a source of Vitamin A and D is grass or other green food. Cod liver oil is, however, an excellent supplementary source for the supply of these vitamins. Vitamin A is the anti-infec-tive and growth-promoting vitamin. Pigs kept with a deficient supply of this vitamin sooner or later develop paralysis of the hindquarters or convulsive fits, head held on one side, and stunted growth, etc. Because of its Vitamin A content the cod liver oil helps to protect the young pig from colds and lung affections. Vitamin D, the other vitamin in cod liver oil, prevents rickets if an adequate calcium-phosphorus intake is available in the diet. Half an ounce of cod liver oil per pig per day before weaning, increased to one ounce daily for at least two months after weaning, will be sufficient. Cod liver oil is particularly valuable in the ration .of young growing pigs in the winter. The oil may be incorporated in the food of the sow in the case of suckling pigs so that they derive the benefit through her milk.

Rate of Feeding In the early stages of fattening the pigs should be given- as much as they will clean up at a meal; that is, what they can clean up in a reasonable time, say, 20 minutes after being fed. . Nothing is more likely to upset pigs than : food left in the troughs to go stale; and overfeeding, apart from its bad effects on pigs, is wasteful. In the later stages of fattening the food should be limited rather below appetite requirements; otherwise carcass quality is likely to be affected. All changes of food, both in quantity and composition, should be carried out gradually. As pigs are the' most rapid growing of farm animals, the supply of mineral matter is of some 4 importance. A good mineral mixture is made by mixing:— lb. Ground limestone 25 Steamer bone-meal or super ... 25 Common salt 5 Phosphate of iron 0J Have a tin of this mixture beside the sty, and put half a pound in the

trough daily for eight pigs (a baking powder • tin is a useful measure). A teaspoonful of this mixture may be incorporated in the food of young pigs daily, working up to one tablespoonful for adult pigs. ( ‘• Maintenance Of Health The greatest mortality in pigs in New Zealand takes place at birth, during the suckling period, and in the immediate post-weaning period. The influence of housing, and nutrition . on the maintenance of health has already, been indicated, but there are two other important factors which should be stressed. .- The first is overcrowding, for the extent of an outbreak of contagious disease— pneumonia, pleurisy, necrotic enteritis (salmonella suipestifer infection), etc. — directly related to the opportunities for spreading, and is therefore directly proportional to the density of the pig population. Overcrowding is common, and is induced by such factors as labour, feeding facilities, and the natural desire

to concentrate the pig population near available food. More attention should be paid in New Zealand to the influence of overcrowding. Isolation Pens The second point is the provision of isolation facilities for holding newlypurchased animals, show animals, or sick animals. Pens for this purpose should be removed some distance from the regular pens. It would be an advantage in the prevention of disease if newly-purchased pigs could be isolated for ten days or a fortnight and sick

animals isolated from the first indications of malaise until recovery is apparent. These isolation pens must be properly cleaned and disinfected after use. Progress Here are eight steps towards progress:— (1) Provide efficient housing. (2) Rations economically balanced and supplement (3) Oil (cod or halibut liver) for Vitamin A and D.

(4) Grass for protein and vitamin supply. (5) Refrain from overcrowding. (6) Essential provide isolation facilities and general (7) Sanitary surroundings safeguard health. (8) Selected breeding stock.

Contagious ecthynia (sore mouth) continues to give trouble in many flocks from time to time, states the Director of the Livestock Division in his annual report. Owners are strongly advised to vaccinate their sheep against the disease if trouble is being experienced from year to year. The vaccine is very effective in conferring an immunity which lasts several months. It is comparatively easy to carry out, and a demonstration of the method of vaccination may be arranged. The vaccine is supplied from the Animal Research Station, Wallaceville.