CARE OF PIGS DURING SUMMER

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 79, Issue 6, 15 December 1949, Page 565

CARE OF PIGS DURING SUMMER

SUMMER, with harvesting and all its attendant worries, is an extremely busy time for the farmer. It is a time, too, at which pigs require a certain amount of attention and though it may be difficult to give it, neglect is apt to be costly. In this article I. H. Owtram, Extension Officer in Pig Husbandry, discusses various aspects of pig keeping that apply more directly to summer.

BY this time of year the majority of the early-spring litters are rapidly approaching bacon weight and probably are occupying the fattening pens. Care should be taken to see that in feeding them food is not wasted, as pigs of this size will consume an enormous quantity of food if they are fed unlimited amounts. This, however, does not tend to produce a good carcass, and some restriction in feeding should be practised. When feeding skimmed milk— approaching bacon weight can be finished off satisfactorily on this feed alonethe quantity should be kept down to not more than 6 gallons a. day; in feeding whey as much as 10 gallons can be given, plus, of course, the jib. of meal per day, which is essential for good results with whey feeding. It is possible that under these conditions of feeding there may be a surplus of skimmed milk; in fact this is usually what causes wasteful feeding of big pigs in the fattening pens, because it may seem to be the alternative to throwing the surplus away. However, there is no need to do that, as skimmed milk can be preserved simply in the form of curd, either in drums or ,in tanks. Briefly, this can be done as follows: — Surplus skimmed milk is placed in a drum or other container and left for the curd to set. When , the curd is set

sufficiently for it to come away from the side of the container cleanly when the band is pressed on the edge of it, it is ready to be broken, which is done simply by stirring. The curd will then sink to the bottom of the container and when this happens all the whey, which is now at the top, is drawn off, with the exception of 3 or 4in. covering the curd. More skimmed milk can then be added daily and the curd will be found to sink of its own accord without stirring. Surplus whey is removed, a few inches being left to cover and seal the curd. It is essential that containers used for storing curd should be clean and in addition to being washed thoroughly before use they should be washed out with a 1 per cent, formalin solution (about 1 teaspoon per gallon of water), after which they must be rinsed thoroughly with clean, cold water. Access to Good Grazing Pigs that are being finished off in the fattening pens should, if possible, be allowed access to a run on good pasture at least twice, a week, even if it is only for half a day. This will assist materially in keeping them in good order. If it is not possible to provide grazing, pigs should be given a little green feedlucerne is ideal and fresh lawn mowings are also use-

fulin the pen. It must be remembered that a pig will not consume a very large quantity of green feed at a time and too much must not be given at once or the pen will be fouled. The quantity fed should be such that the pigs clean it up before the next feed. In very hot weather, providing that the housing is really good, it is better to let the pigs out at night than during the day. ' . Pigs running outside in summer must have shade, but shade without draught. In hot ■ weather there is always a cold draught under big trees, especially when they are planted in a row, and such situations should be avoided. Where pigs cannot be prevented from lying under big trees a windbreak should be arranged under the trees. If there is no natural shade, artificial shade should be provided. There are numerous ways of doing this,, but whatever method of supporting the shade is adopted, the actual top should be made from branches of trees, rushes, manuka brush, or some similar material. Old corrugated iron sheets are of little value, as below them it is generally hotter than outside. Summer Farrowing Sows farrow their summer litters from the end of November and preparations for this should be made well ahead. A thorough cleaning out of farrowing houses, which should include the use of a good disinfectant, is advisable. This entails scrubbing out the whole house with caustic

soda solution and applying the disinfectant through a spray pump if possible. As it is important that the house should be perfectly dry when the sow . goes into it, cleaning should be done well ahead of the time that the house is likely to be wanted. Every effort should be made to keep the pasture in farrowing paddocks short and leafy, though this is not easy at a time when growth is at its maximum. The easiest way of controlling pasture is to graze a few sheep on it, but ewes and lambs should not be used, owing to the danger of infection either to pigs or lambs with arthritis. Wethers, hoggets, and rams are quite satisfactory. If sheep are not available it may be necessary to run the mower over the pig paddocks. However, in dealing with summer litters, it is possible to provide pigs with good, young leafy pasture, and every effort should be made to do it. Farrowing houses shoud be cool in summer; all ventilation openings should be kept open whenever possible. Unsarked, corrugated-iron roofs will prove particularly unsatisfactory in hot weather and it is best to take them off and put sarking of some sort under them —old sacks nailed to the purlins will do if better material is not avail-

able. As an emergency measure a thick layer of old hay can be placed on a roof which is not sarked. This is quite effective, especially if at the same time an opening is made at the back of the house immediately under the roof so that a current of air can flow under the roof and over the pigs. The question sometimes arises as to the advisability of allowing sows to farrow outside in summer. If really good shelter is available in the form of scrub or pampas grass, satisfactory results can be expected, but in view of the lack of control over the sow in the event of the weather deteriorating,

it is advisable, if possible, to avoid having a sow farrow in the open. Adequate Drinking Water The provision of an ample supply of drinking water for the sow in the farrowing unit is most important, as lack of water to drink is probably a frequent cause of sows having a poor showing of milk; cows will not milk without a good supply of water, and neither will sows. Built-in water troughs of such a size that the sows cannot. get into them are by far the most satisfactory receptacles.

Care is necessary with very young pigs to prevent them getting sunburnt. It is a mistake to think that only white pigs suffer from sunburn; coloured pigs when very young are just as susceptible as white pigs, and it is most necessary in really hot weather to protect young pigs under 3 weeks old from the sun. Where housing conditions are good and adequate shelter is lacking it is advisable to keep sows with very young litters inside during the day and let them have the run of the paddock at night. After piglets are 3 weeks old they can be oiled with waste crank-case oil, but before this age oil is apt to scald them.

Feeding Weaners and Slips As the supply of skimmed milk , and whey is plentiful in summer weaners and slips are frequently given too much liquid food. This results in “ballooning” and not only causes slow growth but frequently permanent damage to the digestive organs. It is absolutely essential that concentrates in the form of meat meal and, if possible, a grain meal, should be fed to pigs of this size at a rate, of up to lib. per day, and they should have access to good pasture and a water supply. In summer especially it is necessary to prevent pigs from wallowing in mudholes into which drainage from the piggery or cowshed can run. Mud wallows are one of the most certain avenues for the spreading of disease and any mudholes should be fenced off or, better still, eliminated. A wallow in a clean creek is excellent, but one in the manure sump definitely is not. Summer is an extremely busy period on the farm, but by careful organisation it should be possible to attend to special seasonal operations such as haymaking and silage making and yet give pigs adequate attention.