Management of Pigs from Weaning to Slaughter

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 82, Issue 6, 15 June 1951, Page 493

Management of Pigs from Weaning to Slaughter

THE foundations on which efficient production of high-quality porkers and baconers is built are healthy, heavyweight weaners, but lack of care and attention from this stage can ruin the result of good work put into litter production. Well-done litters deserve good treatment after wean-

ing. In this article

I. H. Owtram,

Extension

Officer' in Pig Husbandry, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, deals with some points in the management of pigs between weaning and slaughter weights.

THE encouragement being given to the production of porkers by the present schedule of prices really diminishes the farmer’s problems. During the past few years, when emphasis was on the production of baconers, the farmer was hard put to bring all his pigs up to bacon weight without using considerable quantities of high-priced and scarce supplementary feeds. However, now that the price being paid for porkers makes them really profitable, pigs, and particularly summer litters, can be put off at lighter weights and much better use made of skimmed milk or whey.

Farrowing Dates

To take full advantage of this situation the first necessity is to try to arrange the farrowing dates of sows to fit in with the feed supply. On most dairy farms where the cows calve in July-August farrowings in May-June and November-December have been found most suitable. Early-May farrowings make the wintering of store pigs unnecessary, for these early litters are big enough to deal with all the skimmed milk available when most of the cows have calved by the middle of August, especially as on all dairy farms calves are being reared at that time of year and they are consuming a considerable quantity of skimmed milk. This in itself is an advantage, as the cost of wintering a litter of pigs that are still being suckled by the sow is considerably less than the cost of wintering the same number of store pigs...

These early litters grow as the feed supply increases and consequently can easily be taken up to baconer weights, which they should reach during November and December. As the sows will farrow again in November, the number of pigs on the farm is greatest just when the supply of dairy byproducts is at its height.

From the end of December onward milk production decreases and so does the quantity of food available for the pigs. This decrease is gradual for some 2 months and then becomes fairly rapid. Disposing of the November litters a few at a time as soon as they reach properly finished pork weights from 60 to 801 b. carcass weightgradually reduces the number of pigs on hand as the feed supply drops. The first few pigs from the early-November litters should be ready for the works, in February, and from then on pigs can be. sent away at regular intervals and the number' on hand reduced to keep pace with the falling milk supply.

Attention after Weaning Whether May litters are being taken to bacon weight or November litters to pork weight, careful attention after they have been weaned is equally necessary. Conditions on the farm should allow a litter of pigs to be kept in its farrowing quarters for at least a fortnight after it has been weaned and the sow has been taken away. The departure of the sow is a considerable shock to the piglets, and if at the same time they are taken out of the quarters to which they are accustomed and mixed up with strange pigs, possibly bigger and stronger than they are, the shock is much greater.

During the past few years dairy farmers have heard much about the psychology of the milking cow, and many of them have applied what they have heard, considerably to their own profit. The pig is just as resentful as the cow of sudden changes in conditions and diet, and their effect is just as detrimental to the pig producer’s profit. The smoother and gentler these changes are, the evener and more rapid is the growth of the pigs.

Unless steps are taken to prevent it, a sudden change in the quality of the pigs’ diet occurs at weaning because the sow’s milk is no longer available. This milk is high in fat content, whereas skimmed milk or whey has virtually no fat left in it. The use of small amounts of tallow at this stage is a great help, and feeding it in the creep should start 7 to 10 days before the piglets are weaned. At first the quantity fed should be only about a teaspoonful (loz.) a day to each piglet, and this can be increased to 4oz. at weaning, continued for 6 weeks, and then gradually stopped. If it can be obtained, a teaspoonful of fish-liver oil each day is also extremely helpful, particularly for winter litters and young pigs which do not get much grazing. These foods are expensive,

but the quantities used are very small, so the cost per pig is not high, and the result in keeping the bloom on the pigs and preventing their receiving a check at weaning more than justifies their use. Maintaining Temperatures Keeping pigs warm is very important, especially when they are first weaned. Pigs react unfavourably to changes in temperature and grow more quickly and use less food at an even temperature of 65 to 70 degrees F. — the higher temperature for younger pigs. In most parts of New Zealand temperatures for by far the greater part of the year are below that desirable for pigs, and even during hot weather only for a few hours in the middle of the day does the temperature rise too high for them. The range of temperatures during hot weather is very considerable, perhaps from 90 degrees between 2 and 3 p.m. down to 50 degrees between 2 and 3 a ; m. Therefore houses should be built to give as much control as possible over the temperature in them, mainly with a view to keeping the pigs warm and free from draughts. On the comparatively rare occasion when they require cooling a spray of water playing on the concrete floor in front of the sleeping quarters is the most effective method; water evaporating from the . floor lowers the temperature. Sleeping quarters must be kept dry and this presents some difficulty in the housing of young pigs that have been weaned recently. They need some training .in keeping their sleeping quarters dry and clean. One method of doing this is to reduce the area of the sleeping floor to half its size with a temporary wooden floor raised at the back on blocks to give it rather more slope than usual and with a piece of 3in. x 2in. timber fixed along the front edge to prevent bedding being pushed off it. After 2 or 3 weeks this temporary floor can be removed.

Pigs can be transferred to a fattening house 2 to 4 weeks after they have been weaned, according to how soon the farrowing house is required for another sow, though time must be allowed for a thorough cleaning of the farrowing house. When put into the fattening house pigs should be graded into groups according to size. If the house has a dunging race, pigs should be shut into it for the first 2 to 3 hours to train them in its use. A water trough with a constant supply of clean drinking water should be installed in each unit of the fattening house, and there should be easy access to a good grass paddock so that the pigs can be let out on to grass two or three times a week at least. Feeding up to 4 Months of Age Plenty of good food is necessary up to the age of 4 months to keep the pigs growing as -fast as possible, because during this time the pig makes lean meat, of which the greatest possible quantity is required in the finished carcass. For litters farrowed in May less skimmed milk is available during the first 4 months than for litters farrowed in November. In the table below, which can be used as a guide to the amount of food to be given, separate rations are given for May and November litters. « Variation in type often occurs in a litter, some of the pigs showing signs of maturing earlier than others. When this is found in a litter farrowed in May, the more advanced pigs are better sent away as porkers, because they will not make first-class carcasses if taken on to bacon weight.

Feeding after 4 Months of Age • After spring litters have passed 4 months of age they are. usually faced with an abundance of food in the form of skimmed milk or whey. Dairy production increases rapidly with the spring growth of grass and calves are reaching weaning age, so releasing more milk for pigs. In these circumstances there is a danger of over-feed-ing, which must be guarded against if high-class baconer carcasses are to be produced. When food is in plenty it is very tempting to give it all to the pigs, which will certainly respond and consume a very large quantity, but it is far better to feed the pigs that are being taken to bacon weight a proper ration and to store any surplus in the form of curd for use in winter. That is not difficult, and full details of the process are given in Department of

Agriculture Bulletin No. 289, “Curd for Feeding Pigs”, available from any office of the Department of Agriculture. The table above gives a guide to the ration required by pigs from 4 months old to bacon weight. A regular run-out on good pasture is essential to keep these pigs in good health, and they should be let out two or three times a week. When a regular ration such as that tabulated is fed, three feeds a day are quite satisfactory. Benefit of Weighing Pigs An important point of management during the later stages of baconer production is regular weighing of the pigs.. A set of scales is a necessity for efficient production; it is not a very costly item and is one that soon pays for itself. A set of platform scales, which often can be obtained second hand, is the most accurate, but a 3001 b. spring balance is quite effective and a weighing crate to use with it can easily be made on the farm. The importance of not sending away pigs that are heavier than 1601 b. carcass weight can be realised from a study of the present schedule of prices,. For example:

Not many overweight pigs need be sent away for the loss to equal the cost of a set of scales. November Litters After the New Year, when all the spring litters have been sent away as baconers, the November litters are weaned and for the next 5 or 6 weeks have a plentiful supply of food in an average dairy season, because milk production does not drop very rapidly at first unless, as occasionally happens, drought conditions set in in January. From the end of February, however, dairy production starts to drop fairly rapidly, but by that time the earliest

of the November litters are between 60 and 801 b. carcass weight, and these should be sent away, the number of pigs on hand being reduced as the food supply falls. This policy is continued, a few pigs, perhaps only one or two, being sent away each week or fortnight as they are ready. Home-grown Crops The provision of home-grown crops can increase the supply of food available for the pigs and reduce the amount that must be bought in autumn. If barley has been grown, some of it can be used to advantage at this time of year. .

Lucerne can be fed as greenfeed in the pens, or pigs that are running can be turned out to graze in the lucerne paddock for a short period each day. A pig’s appetite for lucerne is 8 to 101 b. daily at the most. Some people say that pigs will not eat green lucerne, only making a mess of their pens with it, but that is because they are given far too much and, having eaten all they require, they make a mess with the rest. Rape is another useful green crop that costs nothing to harvest, as the pigs can be turned out to graze on it. Early pumpkins are also valuable; some of the earliest-maturing varieties are among the squashes, Hubbard’s squash and Golden Warren being two of them. If a really early crop of them is obtained, a consignment can profitably be sent to the city markets and the rest used for the pigs.

Aim of Management

The aim of management in autumn should be to have'all pigs except the breeding stock away to the works by the end of the dairy season. That can be accomplished by arranging the farrowing dates of sows to fit in with the supply of dairy by-products during the season and by ensuring that pigs are comfortably housed, well fed up to the age of 4 months and not overfed after that age, and sent away at the correct weights, whether as porkers or baconers. Pigs should be taken to bacon weights during the first half of the dairy season, and porker production should be concentrated on during the second half, though right at the end a few pigs may be taken to bacon weights with the aid of home-grown supplementary food. The farmer who carries out this programme will find that, at present prices, his pigs are returning him a handsome profit.

Age (weeks) Weight (lb.) Daily weight increase (lb.) Food units Skimmed milk (gallons) Meal (lb.) Greenfeed or roots (lb.) 17 99 1.1 4.0 24 1 1 3 to 6 3 to 6 18 107 • 1.1 4.2 2J 3 5 to 10 19 116 1.2 4.4 ' 23 3 . 4 5 to 10 5 to 10 20 125 1.2 4.55 3 ■ 3 4 5 to 10 5 to 10 ■ 21 134 1.25 4.8 34 2 Grazing 2 Grazing 22 143 1.3 5.0 4 1 a Grazing 23 152 1.35 5.2 44 Grazing 24 162 1.4 5.4 5 — Grazing 25 173 1.5 ■ 5.7 54 — Grazing 26 183 1.5 6.0 54 — Grazing 27 193 1.5 6.25 53 — Grazing 28 203 1.5 6.5 6 — Grazing

DAILY RATION FOR A PIG BORN IN MAY FROM 4 MONTHS OLD TO BACON WEIGHT

Age (weeks) SPRING LITTERS (born in May) AUTUMN LITTERS (born in November) Skimmed milk (gallons) Meal (lb.) Greenfeed or roots (lb.' Skimmed milk (gallons) Meal (lb.) Greenfeed or roots (lb.) 9 I 1 1 1 t Grazing 10 1 1 1 to 2 U i Grazing 11 1J 1 2 to 3 2 1 Grazing 12 li 1 1 2 to 3 2 to 3 21 21 Grazing X Grazing 13 If 1 2 to 4 ■ 3 i ■ Grazing 14 2 1 2 to 4 31 J Grazing Grazing 15 21 1 2 to 5 31 X 2 2 ' 16 2J 1 2 to 5 3 X 2 . 4 to 8

DAILY RATION FOR A PIG FROM 2 TO 4 MONTHS OLD

Carcass weight Price per lb. Value £ s. d. 1551b. Is. 7 15 0 1651b. lOd. 6 17 6 1811b. 8d. 6 0 8